China, the United Kingdom, the Philippines and Chile: the countries that already accept imports of Catalan pork

BarcelonaSeveral countries have already accepted the import of pork and pork products produced in Catalonia and throughout Spain, with the exception of products from companies located within the 20-kilometer radius considered the area affected by African swine fever (ASF), as explained this Thursday by the Catalan Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food. Specifically, countries such as the United Kingdom, Chile, and the Philippines have agreed to import Spanish pork from outside this perimeter, while China—the main market outside the European Union—accepts meat from all over Spain except for the province of Barcelona. The ban on exports to countries outside the European Union initially affected all farms in Catalonia and throughout Spain, without exception, when the epidemic was declared in Spain last week. Following the declaration, the Ministry of Agriculture has had to negotiate the regionalization of export bans on a country-by-country basis so that farms not located in areas affected by African swine fever can continue exporting.

Within Spain and with the other 26 EU member states, only pork sales from the declared affected area are restricted. This area comprises 91 municipalities in the province of Barcelona, but excludes the districts of Lluçanès, Osona, and most of Bages, where the majority of companies in the sector are concentrated. Similarly, the rest of Catalonia, especially the provinces of Lleida and Girona, the main producers and exporters, are also excluded from the African swine fever (ASF) zone.

Negotiations underway

The Spanish government is negotiating with several countries to which the Catalan and Spanish pork sector exports substantially. For the moment, Ordeig confirmed at a press conference that the governments of the United Kingdom, Chile, and the Philippines—to which Argentina must be added, as the Spanish government announced on Wednesday—have maintained the same export criteria as the EU: accepting all pork from outside a 20-kilometer radius, although some of these countries have included additional criteria. Furthermore, the Spanish government is holding ongoing talks with the authorities of Serbia and South Korea to also accept meat imports with criteria similar to those of the EU. Conversely, China only agreed to regionalize the ban at the trade level, prohibiting its companies from buying meat from anywhere in the province of Barcelona, ​​but not from the rest of Catalonia or Spain. The regional minister said it will be "difficult" for Beijing to agree to relax this criterion. According to data from the Catalan government, the Catalan pork sector exports approximately €3 billion annually, of which €1 billion are sales to countries outside the EU. Of this, Asian markets account for around €800 million, with approximately €400 million going to China, the main market outside the EU, followed by Japan. In this regard, the Catalan minister was not so optimistic about the Spanish government's negotiations with its counterparts in Japan, Malaysia, and Vietnam, among others, who are more reluctant to reopen their markets. Similarly, the president of the Catalan government, Salvador Illa, He met this Thursday with the Secretary of Agriculture of the Mexican government to reduce restrictions in the American country, which keeps the entry of state pork closed.