On Friday afternoon, it was revealed that a case of foot-and-mouth disease had been confirmed in a herd near Berlin, Germany. This immediately halted the export of pork and beef to all non-European countries requiring the exporting nation to be free of foot-and-mouth disease. By Monday evening, the United Kingdom also decided to suspend all imports of German pork and beef until further notice.
“This decision came as a surprise to all market participants. It was expected that the UK would handle the situation as if it were still part of the EU—where almost all German meat can still be traded freely—but they chose to impose an immediate ban on German meat imports. This means massive quantities of meat now need to find new pathways across Europe,” says Per Fischer Larsen, SVP Industry Sales at Danish Crown.
Danish Crown operates one pig abattoir and two cattle abattoirs in Germany. Pork exports from Germany to countries outside Europe have been limited since 2020 due to African swine fever in the country. Although South Korea and Vietnam reopened their markets to German pork last year, they have now reimposed an immediate import ban.
Beef exports from Germany outside Europe have almost completely ceased. Danish Crown's two cattle slaughterhouses in Germany previously had minor exports to some Asian and North American countries, which have now been halted.
“This is extremely unfortunate because these are highly specialized products that other customers are not willing to pay the same prices for. It's far too early to estimate how much this will cost us in lost revenue. Right now, our focus is on managing the situation and ensuring the continued efficient operation of our two German slaughterhouses,” says Finn Klostermann, CEO of Danish Crown Beef.
All three of Danish Crown’s slaughterhouses in Germany are an integral part of the company’s overall operations, supplying Danish Crown’s many processing plants across Europe. It must now be ensured that no products exported to the UK contain German raw materials, regardless of whether the products are salted, smoked, or heat-treated.
“The flow of meat and goods across Europe has been turned upside down overnight. It’s a significant task for everyone involved, and although it creates a lot of extra work, we benefit from having access to Danish raw materials at this time. We are already well underway in adapting our production. On the sales side, we are focused on staying in close contact with our customers to find the best possible solutions for everyone, as that’s also the path to securing the best returns for Danish Crown’s owners,” says Per Fischer Larsen.
Foot-and-mouth disease cannot be transmitted to humans but is fatal for all cloven-hoofed animals that become infected.