November 22, 2007

EU pork exporters losing share on Japan's market

EU pork exporters are losing market share on the Japanese market this year, according to the German Market Association ZMP.

In the first nine months of 2007, Japanese pork imports rose by 5 percent to 570,000 tonnes compared the previous year.

EU's export only amounted to 170,000 tonnes or only 30 percent of the market share compared to 35 percent in 2005.

Denmark, the biggest supplier of pork within the EU-27 to Japan, reported a decrease in its exports by 5 percent from January to September this year.

In contrast, Japanese imports of pork from the US and Canada have increased by 5 percent and 12 percent respectively.

Analysts said that the decrease in EU exports to Japan was due to the lower tariffs placed on fresh products than those on frozen goods. Most of the pork exported from the EU to Japan is frozen.