It remains to be seen whether there are quantities available for export, considering that imports totalled 244,000 tons in 2008 alone, against domestic production of 605,000 tons, placing Romania, with Poland, among the top importers in Central and Eastern Europe.
“Domestic production is delivered to the local market as fresh meat. There is nothing available for processing, which explains the large quantities of imported meat,” Stanca Tudor, Chief Executive Officer of the Romanian association of employers on the pork market, told Business Standard. The official added that Germany is the main provider of pork, making up 28 percent of total imports, followed by Hungary, Spain, and France.
According to data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, pork imports amounted to 118,422 tons in the first nine months, compared to a domestic production of 303,000 tons. Local production increased in the past few years, excepting last year, when it fell 40,000 tons, due to the world’s largest pork producer, the U.S. Smithfield company, entering the local market and announcing investments exceeding $850 million here.
“As long as Romania does not solve the swine fever problem, investments (irrespective of whether these are Romanian or foreign) will not come running onto a closed market, where any farm risks being affected by swine fever,” said Mihai Visan, Chief Executive Officer of the Romanian Meat Association (ARC).
