Italy has absorbed increased amounts of imported pigmeat from its EU neighbours this year, including the UK, taking product which would previously have ended up in Russia, according to BPEX.
UK pork exports to Italy were 800 tonnes more in the first three quarters of 2014 than in the same period in 2013. That was still a relatively modest share of Italy’s import total which rose 9%, year-on-year, to finish on 762,700 tonnes for the January-September period.
The dominant importer, however, is Germany, with volumes 12% higher than last year. The Netherlands, Spain, France and Denmark also all achieved solid sales growth in Italy, at least in volume terms.
“The unit price for pork imports fell back on the year by 5%,” said BPEX, “with reductions across virtually all of the suppliers, as strong EU production provided ample supply. Nevertheless, increasing volumes took total import value to just over €1.5billion, up 4% on last year.”