Swine influenza redistributes the cards in the world market for pig

PARIS - The swine flu epidemic has prompted major consumer of pork such as China and Russia to limit their imports, which penalizes Canadian and U.S. producers, but could make the European game.

China, Russia as well as Thailand, Indonesia, Ukraine, Ecuador and Croatia have limited their imports of pork from Mexico and parts of the United States and Canada, at the onset of the epidemic.

The meat market in the world exceeds 60 billion dollars per year and the pig meat consumed in the world, representing 38% of production.

China has suffered much criticism after the avian flu and it was now an abundance of caution because the government does not want to be accused of not having learned lessons, "says Andrew Cookson, the consulting firm in the food gira.

The Russians themselves, "using all excuses to refuse imports of products much cheaper than they can produce," he adds.

In these conditions, "the health argument is an easy", are on their side experts Cyclops, in their annual report on raw materials published Tuesday.

"It is enough to send any veterinary inspection at a supplier abroad to discover a suspicion inevitably Health: trichina in pork french, salmonella in poultry and now American swine flu.

Russia is a "specialist" in the "health protection", noted experts Cyclops, a situation made all the more easily possible that Russia is not a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and may restrictive measures to be taken without risk of reprisals

For China, a WTO member, is another story. Canada has threatened early May to file a complaint with the WTO if it does not lifted its embargo on imports of pork.

"WTO members are allowed to restrict imports to protect public health" but "it is necessary that the measures are temporary and scientifically justified", said a source close to the organization.

The scientific argument takes hard because the World Health Organization (WHO) said in late April that "influenza viruses are not known to be transmitted to humans by eating pork."

Mexico, he came to the rostrum of the WTO to seek an explanation from its 153 member countries.

Because the loss to producers is huge.

"The U.S. pork producers estimate their losses at $ 2 billion per day," notes Jean-Paul Simier, director of agriculture to the Regional Council of Brittany and expert report for the Cyclops.

A situation that could play into the hands of European producers.

"As Americans have lost the market, Europeans have won a few" says Andrew Cookson. Russia and China, respectively 2nd and 3rd world importer, can not happen "on the foreign meat," he adds.

Europe should therefore cross the calm in the health crisis, especially as analysts have noted no decrease in the price of pork in early May, in the heart of the storm.

"After the mad cow disease, foot and mouth disease, avian influenza, European consumers are shielded," says Andrew Cookson.

And especially for pork as "2 / 3 of the pig are processed so the consumer loses the direct link with the beast," he says.