Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

German meat plant closure could pressure pig prices

AHDB says there could be pressure on European pig prices after a major German plant closed due to a virus outbreak.
AHDB says there could be pressure on European pig prices after a major German plant closed due to a virus outbreak.

The closure of a major meat processing plant in Germany due to an outbreak of Covid-19 could put pressure on European pig prices, claims farm levy body AHDB.

“The plant reportedly processes in excess of 100,000 pigs a week and it seems it will be closed for a few weeks, although this is unclear,” said AHDB senior analyst, Bethan Wilkins.

“Tonnies, which owns the plant, is apparently confident the pigs can be diverted elsewhere. However, it seems likely increased tightness in slaughter capacity will put downward pressure on prices in the coming week at least.”

She said Germany was central to the European pork market and any price pressure in the country was likely to have repercussions in other member states.

“Countries that export live pigs to Germany for slaughter may well face some difficulties, if these supplies prove difficult to divert,” added Ms Wilkins.

“For the UK, the sow market may face pressure, with most of these carcasses exported to Germany.”

She said suspension of the plant’s approval to export to China was also a longer-term concern.

“Access to China is important as it maximises carcase values, particularly at a time where EU demand is challenged by limitations on the foodservice industry,” added Ms Wilkins.

“Other plants may need to increase their exports in order to maintain volumes overall.”

She said reports indicate China has already increased inspections of imported meat, and the European market was not immune to this.

Ms Wilkins added: “Although it is highly unlikely people can contract Covid-19 from food or packaging, according to the World Health Organisation, caution over imported meat may well be another challenge facing suppliers to the Chinese market this year.”