November 30, 2020

Germany calls on meatpackers to work overtime to clear livestock backlog

Julia Kloeckner, German Minister of Food and Agriculture, called on slaughterhouses and meatpackers to work overtime, such as on weekends and public holidays, to clear a livestock backlog that had accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reported.

Kloeckner said there is an estimated 590,000 livestock awaiting slaughter in the country, most of them being swine.

After several COVID-19 outbreaks, the German government imposed stricter working and health regulations in slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants.

Farming associations said the stricter regulations have cut their slaughtering capacity, resulting in a backlog of swine even though they are ready for sale and causing pork prices to fall.

Pork prices are also on the downtrend after China, Japan, and South Korea imposed German pork bans following reports of African swine fever in Germany.

Kloeckner said pork prices are under pressure in Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands as well as the entire European Union internal market is affected by Germany's loss of third-country exports.

The minister has requested a more flexible application of working regulations in slaughterhouses from Germany's employment minister, which includes working on Sundays and public holidays.

She said farming associations have urged the government to provide state subsidies of private warehousing to store unsold meat.

While she has not downplayed this option, she said the timing is important as it does not make sense to provide subsidies during the Christmas period when demand for meat is high. She said a suitable timepoint for the subsidies will be around mid-January, as meat demand during this period tends to be weaker.

- Reuters