February 27, 2015

EU meat exporters eye Asia and Africa

In the face of trade sanctions imposed by Russia, the EU's pork and beef sectors are looking at other potential regions, specifically Asia and Africa.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, a tight global beef supply, the declining euro currency and better efficiency in European productions could also improve the situation further.

The development is good news for exporters in the bloc as pork shipments are expected to spring up to a 23-year high. At 50,000 tonnes more than a USDA forecast, an estimated 2.25 million tonnes could be delivered to other non-EU markets this year. Output will also rise 2.7% to 22.46 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, EU's beef shipments outside the region could reach 325,000 tonnes this year, a four-year high according to a USDA bureau based in The Hague. It noted that the bloc "is expanding (pork) trade to Asia", with conspicuous increases of exports to South Korea and Japan. 

In addition, Hong Kong is raising imports from the bloc, particularly the UK and Ireland.

Still, even with higher exports in 2015, EU's beef production may see a minor rise by 30,000 tonnes to 7.44 million tonnes, said The Hague-based USDA bureau. The trend has been attributed to a growth of dairy herds following the drawing down of milk output quotas.

The expansion is expected to continue if milk prices continue to dip further.