China bans pork imports from Barcelona after Spain’s swine fever outbreak
Written by: Jesus Calero and Emma Pinedo
MADRID/BEIJING (Reuters) – China has banned pork imports from the province of Barcelona after Spain detected the first case of African swine fever in three decades in two wild boars found dead in the region, according to a Chinese Customs document seen by Reuters.
The virus outbreak, last recorded in Spain in 1994, coincides with Spain’s efforts to court Beijing and gain market share in its pork sector, and China’s imposition of tariffs on EU pork products amid an anti-dumping investigation.
A separate Customs database entry showed China also suspended imports of pork from facilities in the affected region belonging to 12 companies, including major exporters Costa Food Meat and Matadero Frigorifico Avinyo.
SPAIN TEMPORARILY STOPS ALL PORK SHIPMENTS TO CHINA
Spain is the European Union’s leading pork producer, with annual pork exports of about 3.5 billion euros ($4.05 billion), ahead of Germany, accounting for about a quarter of the bloc’s production.
Emilio Garcia, a senior official at Spain’s agriculture ministry, told reporters at a briefing that Spain had recently signed an agreement with China that meant producers in other parts of Spain would not be affected by the ban, but Beijing had halted all pork shipments to China as a precaution until it confirmed it was following the protocol restricting trade only from the affected province.
After China announced its activation, he said Spain could continue exports from regions not affected by the virus.
Garcia added that the restrictions and special monitoring will last at least 12 months.
South Korea and the United States also have regionalization protocols with Spain, so they will continue to import from Spanish regions outside the province of Barcelona, where there are 14 meat processing plants.
However, Garcia said exports to Mexico and Japan will be restricted because these countries do not have any regionalization agreement with Spain.
THE PORK INDUSTRY IS ALREADY STRUGGLE
“The European market is already struggling after a 20% drop in prices since July,” said Jean-Paul Simier, a meat analyst at French commodity research group Cyclope.
“There is a risk of an embargo against the EU’s largest exporter of pork, particularly to Asia and particularly to China.”
Spanish pork lobby group Interporc said pig farms within a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) radius of where the pig was found would face restrictions on operating and selling their products. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, there are 39 pig farms in this area.
Spanish farmers’ association Asaja said the sector was ready to face the epidemic but called on authorities to address the “uncontrolled presence” of wild animals such as pigs and rabbits in rural areas that risk contaminating livestock.
“We have spent years modernizing our farms, strengthening biosecurity and making our operations among the most advanced in the world,” he said.
Garcia said authorities will conduct a census of the wild boar population in the area and strictly monitor their movements. He said the two wild boar carcasses were found “while still fresh”, so the virus was detected early.
Spain’s pork exports to China exceed 540,000 metric tons in 2024, worth 1.1 billion euros ($1.28 billion), Garcia said.
The virus, which is harmless to humans but fatal to pigs, has been spreading westward in Europe in recent years.
Germany’s sizeable pork industry has already been shaken by several overseas countries imposing bans on pork products. Croatia has been trying to control an outbreak in recent months.
($1 = 0.8637 euro)
(Reporting by Jesus Calero, Emma Pinedo, David Latona and Corina Pons in Madrid and Ella Cao in Beijing; Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris; Editing by Charlie Devereux, Kevin Liffey, Sharon Singleton, Rod Nickel)
