EU pork exports almost double in May

EU pork exports in May nearly doubled to 226,000 tonnes compared with the same month last year, although they were marginally lower than in April.

Cumulative pork exports in the first five months hit nearly 1 million tonnes, or 56% more than the same period last year. The value of these exports was over €2 billion (US$2.2 billion), or 43% more than in January-May 2015.

Citing the latest figures from Eurostat, AHDB Pork said booming sales to China supported EU pork exports. Shipments from the EU to the world's second-largest economy in May topped 100,000 tonnes for the second month in a row, which were more than three times higher than in May 2015.

Shipments to Japan also remained higher than last year although a slowdown was noted. Sales to other Asian markets also remained strong as did shipments to the US, which were more than double the level in May 2015.

Although the growths were largely demand-driven, lower unit prices did help exports. The average value was down 9% on the year, although the total value of exports was up nearly 80% at €488.7 million ($536.15 million).

There was a slight slowdown in offal exports in May, although they were still up by more than 30% year-on-year, at 107,000 tonnes. This was more than 10,000 tonnes lower than in April, though.

Sales to all the main Asian markets were robust, with Vietnam continuing to grow in importance as shipments trebled their level in May 2015. However, its share of total exports was still only 3%, as the trade remained dominated by China-Hong Kong.