September 24, 2018

EU pork exports continue upward trend in July, but value down

Following the trend recorded in June, EU exports of fresh and frozen pork in July rose 3% to 164,000 tonnes compared with a year earlier, according to data from Eurostat, AHDB Pork reports.

July export value, however, fell 9% year-on-year to €359 million (US$422.56 million) due to export prices across the region remaining around 14% lower than a year ago.

The overall volume growth in EU exports was attributable to South Korea, the Philippines and notably Ukraine, whose imports grew 15%, 24% and 400%, respectively. 

Pork exports to China, the EU's largest market by volume, fell 5% or 2,500 tonnes year-on-year in July, returning to the recent trend of decline following a brief upturn in June.

Exports to Japan, the EU's leading export market by value, remained stable at 27,000 tonnes, although falling export prices to Japan eroded the value by 7% year-on-year. Pork shipments to Hong Kong also fell 44% or by 4,500 tonnes year-on-year.

In the first seven months, exports of fresh/frozen pork were around the same level as in 2017, although remaining above the five-year average for this period, at 1.22 million tonnes. However, export value was down 8% at €2.76 billion as export prices were 9% lower than the same period last year.