It is claimed by a global animal health organisation that up to a quarter of the world's pig population could die following the outbreak and ongoing effects of African Swine Fever, putting significant strain on the EU supply chain.

Mark Schipp, President of the World Organisation for Animal Health has been quoted as saying the current issue represents: "the biggest threat to the commercial raising of pigs we've ever seen" and described the ongoing situation as “the biggest threat to any commercial livestock of our generation."

With eastern Asia bearing the brunt of the disease outbreak, the fatal illness has spread and has reached over 50 countries, including South Korea, Belgium and Poland. The shortage of pork meat in China has had a knock-on effect on the global supply chain.

The Chinese Market requires far less processing, trimming and ageing of meat joints and they are prepared to pay higher prices than Europe would traditionally pay. This means that much of the traditional EU supply chain are opting to send their stock to China and are no longer quoting for European markets. 

As a result, EU pork prices have reached a 6 year high.

At this stage, it is not known how long the African Swine Fever issue is likely to run but there is no licensed cure as yet. We could see shortages continuing for some time to come with most global analysts predicting there will be a huge deficit in pork production for the foreseeable future.

We will, of course, keep all clients up to date on any future development regarding this. Should you have any concerns, please contact your account manager.