Pig farmers face long wait for measures to ease crisis

Date: 28/01/1999

By Myles Neligan

THE inability of EU governments to set aside their differences over how to tackle the crisis in Europe's pigmeat sector means there may be no reprieve for cash-strapped pig farmers until the summer.

National experts are set to meet in Brussels next month to discuss ways of curbing chronic overproduction. But no firm decisions are expected due to deep divisions between member states.

European Commission officials say that without a clear mandate from governments for special measures, there is little they can do. "We are doing everything in our power to stabilise the market, but we have nearly exhausted the means at our disposal," said one.

The news will come as a blow to the European pigmeat industry, which has seen prices plunge 26% since August last year to reach a 25-year low. Analysts blame the sector's collapse for an average 3.9% decline in EU farmers' income last year, with Denmark - which is heavily reliant on pork exports - hit by a fall of more than 22% in farmers' revenues. "Pig farming has always been a cyclical business, but this is the worst downturn we have ever seen," said one Commission expert.

Since the crisis began, the institution has raised export subsidies three times, and has agreed to pay storage costs for a total of 80,000 tonnes of surplus pork. It is also planning to dispose of an additional 100,000 tonnes of pigmeat by sending it to Russia as food aid.

The current glut of pigmeat has been caused by farmers increasing their output to take advantage of higher prices as consumers switched from beef to pork because of BSE.

Their difficulties were compounded last summer when the financial crises in Asia and Russia deprived them of lucrative export markets. Russia alone accounted for 32% of EU pork exports.

Industry experts add that the crisis would have struck last year, but was delayed by a swine fever outbreak in the Netherlands in which 10 million animals were killed.

The meeting of national experts on 10 February has been arranged at the request of French Farm Minister Jean Glavany, who called for emergency intervention at last week's meeting of EU agriculture ministers.

But his preferred solution of a compulsory piglet slaughter scheme is opposed by Spain, Ireland, the UK and Denmark.