Pork chains internationalizing in a context that promotes self-sufficiency

The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the dependence of France as well as the whole European Union (EU) on external resources in certain strategic sectors. Agri-food resilience, however, is welcomed during this crisis, facilitated by the strong agricultural self-sufficiency. The unpredictable health context (COVID-19, African swine fever (ASF)), slowdown in international trade, revival of trade and diplomatic tensions (Brexit, USA-China), denunciation of living conditions of slaughterhouse workers, and societal expectations of animal production and food raised in France and other European countries are all warning signs of greater control over the agri-food sector and probably of stronger localization of its activities. Analysis of international trade in pork products, however, shows growth in volumes traded between surplus-production areas (European Union, Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement-CUSMA, Brazil) and deficit areas (Eastern Asia, including China), but also internationalization of value chains in the densest production areas (EU, CUSMA). This development is based on exploiting comparative advantages, generating economic efficiency by decreasing production costs, adapting products to demand and searching for a necessary balance of using all parts of the pork carcass and by-products. In terms of supply security, the recent experience of ASF in Asia shows that connecting to international markets is part of a risk-management strategy. Foreign investment made by companies in the sector shows an original path in this regard. But these internationalisation strategies could come up against growing societal expectations.

Impact of the Covid-19 health crisis on consumption and distribution of pork products in France

During the Covid-19 health crisis, global food consumption, especially that of pork products, experienced strong disruptions in a short time. The consumption per distribution channel of pork products and meat from other species was monitored by combining two complementary data sets. The Nielsen retailer panel provided automatic data collection from weekly cash registers for supermarkets and drive-through pickup while the KantarWorldpanel consumer panel released monthly data of at-home consumption behavior based on purchasing data in all distribution channels. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, out-of-home catering consumption was estimated to have an approximately 15% market share by volume within the pork sector. The almost total lockdown in France resulted in consumption being diverted to at-home supply chains. Consumers' search for proximity and social distancing has helped accelerate the fragmentation of distribution, favoring online distribution channels and alternative supermarkets to physical points of sale. Against a backdrop of a pronounced decrease in meat consumption over the past 10 years, fresh pork and self-service cold meats have served as safe-haven products in a context of reallocation of deli counter spending. Analysis of this atypical period of consumption leads to questioning the persistence of these behaviors in the medium term, both in terms of the products offered and the distribution channels.

French animal sectors facing the COVID-19 pandemic

This article offers an analysis of the economic situation of several animal sectors (cow's milk, beef, pork, poultry meat and the equine sector) in France, two years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Starting from the latest statistical data available for the period 2020 to 2021 and while taking into account historical trajectories, it seeks to highlight how this crisis has had implications for production, prices, consumption, foreign trade and, in the case of the equine sector, the various activities (horse betting, equestrian centres, etc.). The production of agricultural goods was generally little impacted by the health crisis because farmers continued to produce, sometimes despite certain difficulties, such as the lack of labor, temporary loss of outlets, etc. Faced with a significant change in the structure of demand (increase in products purchased by households to the detriment of those favored in out-of-home catering), the sudden measures imposed by the State and the difficulties sometimes encountered in maintaining the number of employees, processors have been able to adapt quickly to provide consumers with the goods demanded. Trade flows were also disrupted in 2020, before picking up again in 2021, according to trends that were ultimately fairly consistent with those preceding the crisis. Under the influence, on the one hand, of the increase in the price of energy (even before the war in Ukraine which began on February 24, 2022) and, on the other hand, fluctuating imports from China into global animal product markets, producer prices increased in late 2021 and early 2022, but this increase is offset by a sharp increase in production costs. In the equine sector, turnover losses were temporarily significant due to the interaction of this sector with the public. After the shock of 2020, and subject to adaptation by the players in the sector, activities are gradually resuming.

Which consequences of african swine fever on the global swine industry and other animal industries?

ASF caused a significant drop in Chinese pork production between 2018 and 2020. To make up for this deficit, China significantly increased its meat imports in 2019 and 2020, thus strengthening the growth trend of European and American exports and driving up meat prices in these regions. However, from the start of 2020, COVID-19 disrupted the usual marketing channels for meat products in these domestic markets and in export markets, and caused disruption in the meat industries, with a depressive effect on prices. In addition, the emergence of ASF in Germany in September 2020 also severely hampered the possibilities for European pork exports. The two ASF and COVID-19 epidemics highlight the importance of health security for the economic development and the resilience of the animal sector.