China Targets EU Pork In Tit-For-Tat Trade Spat

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About half of pork imports in China came from Europe. From 2014 to 2020, China's pork imports continued to grow. After the figure peaked at 4.39 million tons in 2020, it has declined gradually. It fell to 1.55 million tons last year.

Cailianpress, a Chinese financial news website, said pork imported from the EU only accounted for a small portion of China's total pork consumption, so a drop in supply from the region will not have a big impact on pork prices in China. It said, on the contrary, many pig farms in the EU will suffer as they won't be able to find new buyers for their pig internal organs, trotters, tails and ears, which are not generally used in European dishes.

In Chinese cuisine, pig intestines, stomachs and bladders usually go into“dim sum” to be consumed in a hotpot. Pork knuckles are cooked with ginger and vinegar. Pig lungs, tails and ears are for making soups.

Chronology of retaliation

On May 26 the state-owned Global Times said the Chinese government was considering starting an anti-dumping investigation into pork imports from the EU. On June 1, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao visited Spain and said the EU's anti-subsidy investigations into Chinese EVs and other products were conducted under false pretexts such as Chinese overcapacity and unfair competition.

However, Beijing's warnings failed to stop the EU from imposing a 17.4-38.1% tariff on Chinese EVs on June 12.

Last year, Spain exported about 560,000 tons of pork products worth 1.2 billion euros (US$1.29 billion) to China, according to Interporc, the country's pork producers' association.

Since China launched an investigation into the EU's pork imports, Spain has called for trade talks. Spanish Agriculture Minister Luis Planas said he hoped that there would be room for negotiation to avoid the imposition of tariffs on Spanish agricultural and food products.

Apart from Spain two other countries, the Netherlands and Denmark, will also be hit by China's latest anti-dumping probe as they exported to China pork products worth US$620 million and US$550 million, respectively, in 2023.

A spokesperson of the European Commission said the EU is not worried about China's anti-dumping probe and will intervene appropriately to ensure that the investigation complies with the World Trade Organization rules.

China's pork supply

According to an article published by the Economic Daily earlier this year, China's pork prices had been declining since September 2020 due to an oversupply situation in the markets, except for a slight rebound between April and November 2022.