Despite a 25% decline in production over the past decade, Germany remains a global leader in pork exports, particularly to the rest of the European Union. However, a recent detection of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in a water buffalo herd at a small exotic farm near Berlin means most of their livestock products cannot be exported outside of the EU. U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Vice President of Economic Analysis Erin Borror said the detection was thankfully only on a small farm.
While Germany is primarily an exporter of pork, Borror said this detection will limit their exports of all cloven-hooved livestock.
Borror said that it will be difficult for the U.S. to gain any market leverage from this, since the United Kingdom and Vietnam have significant tariffs and restrictions on U.S. pork. And while the U.S. does significant pork trade with South Korea, most Korean imports of German pork are bellies, which the U.S. already sees strong domestic demand for.
For more information, visit usmef.org.
