Before ASF spread to Germany’s wild boar herd in the autumn of 2020, it was the EU’s top pork exporter. Though animal health authorities have never detected the disease in farmed pigs, multiple countries in Asia banned its pork exports. Cases are still being reported in wild boar, making German pork exports languish.

Germany’s ongoing battle with ASF has benefitted other pork producers in the EU and Americas. According to analysis from Rabobank, China remains unlikely to lift import bans on German pork until mid-year. This could stall growth in the German pork sector.

“Every week we’ve got several new cases, it’s far from under control,” said Tim Koch, livestock analyst at AMI. “Some third countries are opening their border for German pig meat, but it’s all comparably low numbers. China imported more meat in the last year than all the other countries together.”

Germany and China recently engaged in bilateral talks on the issue, but German pork producers are still facing an uphill battle due to rising feed costs and additional government regulation.

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