Belgian foreign trade in beef and pork - demand falls in the first half of the year
From January to June 2019, Belgian meat suppliers worldwide have 380.008 tons Pork exported - a drop of 6,6 percent compared to the same period last year. This emerges from the provisional Eurostat figures. The slowdown in export figures is partly due to the 2,6 percent drop in pork production in the kingdom. Furthermore, the outbreak of African swine fever in September 2018 and the corresponding export ban to certain third countries also plays an important role, although Belgium, according to the self-declaration of the OIE, is "free of African swine fever in domestic pigs and wild boar kept". In a five-year comparison, the average annual growth rate has remained rather stable.
Intra-community trade lost momentum slightly, down 1,9 percent to 358.247 tons. Almost 30 percent of the Belgian quantities are destined for the German market: with 110.660 tons (minus 8,4 percent), the Federal Republic remains the most important destination for Belgian pork. Poland is also curbing its imports, by 2,6 percent to 103.373 tons. In the Netherlands, on the other hand, growth of 3,6 percent to 45.775 tons was recorded.
In the first half of 2019, third-country exports came in at 21.761 tons, a sharp drop of 47,5 percent. Hong Kong absorbs almost a quarter of the total at 5.384 tons, or up 27 percent. Vietnam followed with 4.033 tons and Ivory Coast with 3.068 tons.
In the first half of 2019, 86.051 tons of Belgian Beef sold in foreign trade business. The 15 percent drop is partly due to lower beef production (down 5,1 percent). Nevertheless, the five-year average was an increase of 2,2 percent.
Within the Union, 80.063 tons were placed, a drop of 13 percent compared to the same period last year. At 30.112 tons and 19.670 tons, exports to the Netherlands and France respectively shrank by eight percent. German demand fell by almost a fifth to 13.533 tons.
Outside the Union, Belgian beef also met with declining interest at 5.988 tonnes (down 36 percent). The Ivory Coast, Ghana and Bosnia-Herzegovina lead the list of Belgian customers in third country business.
