Sweden's meat industry sees impending adversities

An increased number of Swedish meat producers are being forced to leave their business because of rising production costs and increasingly stringent environmental regulations.

According to Polish FAMMU/FAPA, the local and overseas demands for meat in Sweden are steadily growing. Problems are now being observed in most sectors from pork to poultry, and according to some analysts, if the current trends continue, next year's meat imports in Sweden could overtake the level of domestic production.

Some representatives of the Swedish meat industry believe that this is due to their high standards of animal welfare and environmental protection in the country. Last year, pig slaughter in Sweden fell by 10%, while cattle rose by only 0.6%. Share of pork imports in total consumption stood at 35%, while beef (coming mainly from Ireland, Denmark and Germany) was 52%.

Since 1995, beef consumption in Sweden has increased by 35%, but production has increased only slightly. The same situation goes for the poultry sector, which has a consumption increase of 9.3% and production increase of only 1.9% in 2008. Meanwhile, imports of poultry, (mainly from Brazil) rose by 14%.