February 15, 2016
Japan market now open for Danish beef
Denmark became the fifth EU member-state to which Japan has opened its beef market after a long-term ban over the issue of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE.
Cecilia Malmström, Phil Hogan and Vytenis Adriukaitis, Commissioners for trade, agriculture and food safety, respectively, agreed that "it is good news that Japan continues to approve beef exports from EU member states".
They said they looked forward to seeing Japan open its market to remaining EU member states "in the near future".
"All Commission services, together with the EU Delegation to Japan, are working towards opening the Japanese market for EU beef and beef products for all those member states that are interested in exporting", they added.
The European Commission said the opening up of the Japanese market to Danish beef was an encouraging signal for EU member states that have also applied to export beef, adding their "equally high level of food safety has been internationally recognised by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)".
Exports of European beef and beef products to Japan resumed in 2013. The exports from the first four authorised member states (France, Ireland, the Netherlands and Poland) were worth €4.6 million in the first half of last year.
The EC said that for Danish beef exports to effectively resume, Denmark would now need to designate the exporting establishments.
Number of pigs stable
Meanwhile, provisional figures from the Jan. 1 pig census showed that the number of pigs in Denmark remained stable in 2015, ending the year at 12.7 million head, the AHDB Pork said.
The pork division of the UK’s Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board said that whilst the number of slaughter pigs in Denmark was slightly reduced (-2%), there was an increase in the number of young pigs, suggesting that there may be a small rise in Danish production in the first half of 2016 as these go through the system.
According to AHDB Pork, pork prices fell from a high of 1,026 Danish kroner (€138, US$154) per 100kg in June 2015 to DKK909 (€122, $137) per 100kg in January 2016-a decrease of 11%. Danish prices have stabilised in the New Year, aided by the private storage aid scheme, during which the Danes stored 12,000 tonnes of pork.
Production levels are forecast to tighten in the second half of 2016, as the effects of the rationalisation of the breeding herd start to hit. Potentially this could provide some support to prices in the second half of the year, the AHDB Pork said.