China’s threat to impose tariffs on pork products puts the sector on alert

One of Newton’s laws states that every action produces a reaction of equal intensity but in the opposite direction. It seems that the pork sector may ultimately suffer from this. The European Union, like the United States, announced tariffs of up to 38% on the entry of Chinese electric vehicles into the EU market, with Beijing saying it would not stand by the decision. Now a Chinese newspaper Global times It asserts, citing “industry sources” that some companies have “formally submitted a request to the relevant authorities” to initiate investigations into “certain imports” of pork and dairy products from the European Union (EU). In other words, analyzing whether pork receives aid and therefore does not play on an equal footing on the market is the European and American accusations against the cars of the Asian giant. If this becomes a reality, it will have a complete impact on the swine industry across the state, with Lleida being one of the leading producers.

The Minister of Industry and Trade, Jordi Jereu, said yesterday in La Seu d’Urgell that he does not believe in trade wars and defended the pig sector and the agri-food sector in Lleida as a whole, recalling that its competitiveness is not and has not been based on past in terms of government subsidies. In other words, Beijing would have no reason to impose tariffs on pork. China is the first destination for pork exports from Spain, despite a decline of 11.9% in the first two months of this year. They are followed by Italy (+34.2%), France (+2.9%), Japan (-7.1%) and the Philippines (+18.1%). According to Interporc, in 2023 Spain exported over 560,000 to China. tons of pork products worth 1.223 million euros, which gave this Asian country 20.33% of foreign pork sales, or 13.7% of the total costs. 61% of Spain’s turnover from agri-food sales to China comes from pork; According to the latest report for the transition year (March 2024), the second place is taken by 109 million drinks and 97 million olive oils (74 million olive oils). These trade tensions between the EU and China come just a decade after Russia closed its doors. for a large part of European food products, which was a serious blow to Lleida fruit.

Influence on Lleida as a great production leader

The possibility of China declaring a trade war on the EU, using the pig sector as a target, could be particularly damaging for Lleida, as it is not without reason that it is the main production leader in Spain, currently second only to Huesca. According to the latest official data from the Ministry of Agriculture, there are 4.59 million animals registered in the Lleida regions, and in Huesca this number increases to 5.10 million, giving a total of 30,189,917 animals in the state. Pork is seeing good times thanks to falling costs and high prices. The latest Generalitat study from April estimated the profit per kilogram of live pig at 45 euro cents. The Anaisa Meat Industry Association has asked the government to activate all preventive measures planned for these cases, given the enormous damage. Chinese tariffs will impact exporting companies.