Imported pork pushes Estonian pig farming into losses

Estonia’s pig farming sector is operating at a loss as cheap European pork drives down the price paid for locally produced meat, ERR reported.

A year after a major swine fever outbreak, Estonian farms have disinfected their facilities and restored production, but producers continue to lose money. Some smaller farms have already closed.

“If we stop production and later want to restart it, the process is not as simple as producing today and not producing tomorrow. Restarting is expensive and takes a very long time,” said Valmar Haava, chief executive of Saimre Agro Group.

Farmers have not had trouble selling their output, Haava said, but they are selling it at a loss. “We have sold all the meat. We have regular partners who buy it, but we are still selling at a loss,” he said.

The impact of last year’s swine fever outbreak is only now reaching meat processors. When the pig barns were emptied, meat deliveries were interrupted for several months.

“The farms affected were those whose production should have reached the market only at the beginning of this year or during the first half of the year, so the recovery has taken quite a long time,” said Ragnar Loova, head of the Nõo meat processing plant.

The decline in pig numbers is also affecting companies that provide services to the sector. Lower volumes have reduced work for feed producers, making it harder to provide services at normal prices. This is also pushing up the production cost of pork, said Meelis Laande, a board member of Atria Farms.

As production has fallen, the share of domestic pork in Estonia’s supply has declined from about 70 to 80 percent last year to around 60 percent now, Laande said. This leaves the market dependent on imported meat.

The Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture is seeking ways to ease pig farmers’ losses. In the longer term, the government plans to direct funding towards restoring and expanding production. The ministry has approved a plan to allocate 14 million euros to increase pork production and establish more sow farms, said Madis Pärtel, the ministry’s deputy secretary general for bioeconomy.

Although consumers prefer domestic pork, they often choose cheaper imported meat at the store.