In the face of trade restrictions following the outbreak of the Swine Fever (MKS) in Germany, the President of the Friedrich-Loffler-Institute (FLI), Christa Kühn, expects a short-term decrease in prices at the supermarket.
Due to the import bans and the restraint of trading partners in taking products from Germany, the trade is disrupted, said the head of the state research institute to the newspapers of the Funke-Mediagroup (Thursday editions). “That means the demand for products produced in Germany is decreasing. Consumers will quickly notice that they will likely have to spend less money on milk and butter over a short period” Kühn added.
The Swine Fever was detected at the end of the previous week in a buffalo farm in the Brandenburg town of Hönow. Since then, there have been no further confirmed cases. The animal disease has led to numerous trade restrictions, particularly with non-EU countries, so-called third countries.
The German meat industry fears own statements according to damages in the hundreds of millions of euros. “The damage caused by the outbreak of Swine Fever for the entire meat industry, especially through export restrictions, is immense, because deliveries to most third countries that import beef and pork from Germany can no longer be dispatched” said the Managing Director of the Association of the Meat Industry (VdF), Steffen Reiter, to the Funke newspapers.
The Association does not expect a quick end to the restrictions: “Many of these buyer countries demand in the import conditions that the delivery country is free of Swine Fever. Germany has now lost this status” it was said.
According to VdF statements, the export volume with third countries for meat and sausage is around one billion euros per year. One of the largest meat producers in Germany, Westfleisch from Münster, informed the newspapers of the Funke-Mediagroup that, primarily, products that only have little to no demand in Germany are being exported to third countries. The situation has not yet had an impact on its own processing: “Our production is running without interruption. With supply bottlenecks, we do not have to reckon, as long as the disease remains regionally limited” said a Westfleisch spokesperson.
The dairy industry also expects damage due to the trade restrictions with third countries. “Through import bans declared by third countries, market pressure is created, which is immediately passed on to the farmers by the declining prices of the milk producers and slaughterhouses. Economic losses are the consequence” a spokesperson of the Federal Association of German Milk Producers (BDM) told the newspapers of the Funke-Mediagroup.