A ban on pork imports from some regions in Germany was introduced a few days ago by the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency. The reason is - established outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease. Nearly 60 percent of pork in Bulgaria is imported, namely from Germany and Spain. Will this ban have an impact on the price of pork in Bulgarian stores and what are the forecasts of pig farmers?
The pork market in Bulgaria remains predictable. At least as of today, according to the industry. “Initially, wholesale prices fall sharply and after a certain period of time they rise sharply“, Vihren Dimitrov, member of the Board of the Pig Breeders Association, told NOVA.
According to data from the Pig Breeders Association, last week the price of a pig weighing up to 25 kg in Germany was 55 euros, and this week it fell by 10 euros. In Bulgaria, the impact is also negative. “Currently, live pigs are being traded without VAT at around 2.80 to 3 leva. But why am I telling you that prices are falling? Because our colleagues from Germany have hidden this information a little and so far they have slaughtered the animals and put them in cans or processed them, so this is what happens in the short term“, he added.
The hope is that pork prices in our country will remain approximately at the current values. “We have the capacity, but I say that we need a team game and we need to sit down and come to an agreement with both the slaughterhouses and the processors. I have a lot of faith in Bulgarian consumers, because they themselves evaluate the quality of our products, not only pork, but also dairy products, fruits and vegetables“, notes Dimitrov.
In order for the meat produced by Bulgarian pig farms to take up a larger market share, measures are also needed, says the producer. “Our ambition is to satisfy the market and start exporting. Then we need modern slaughterhouses and we need a law for industry organizations - a law on supporting cooperatives. There must be regulation in these things, there cannot be regulation for energy carriers, but there must be no regulation for basic foods“, he notes.
And he hopes that in this way the prices of Bulgarian pork will remain stable. “There shouldn't be more than ten to twelve leva of quality meat at all times and this can happen within 2 years. No problem“, said Dimitrov.