French pork producers may benefit from China-US trade dispute

World
Europe

02:26

The US in early April imposed tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum exports. China responded by introducing its own new taxes on three billion dollars of US exports, including fruits, nuts, and wine.

Pork was one of the hardest hit sectors, hit by a 25-percent duty. China is the world’s biggest market for pork products, with Chinese people consuming 130 billion dollars worth of pork every year. The vast majority of imported pork comes from the US, meaning the tariffs spell bad news for American farmers.

That might create a reason for French pork producers to be optimistic, though. France exported 140 million tons of pork to China last year – making it by far the country’s biggest export market, and a potential lifeline for cash-strapped pig farmers who are finding it hard to make ends meet.

Cooperl, a co-operative bringing together 2700 pig farmers in Brittany, was a pioneer in the Chinese market – the first French firm to get a license to export pork there, fifteen years ago. They started by exporting fresh meat, and in 2015 were permitted to export cooked meat products, like ham and sausages, for which the region is famous.

CGTN Photo

“These things aren’t traditionally eaten in China,” explained the co-operative’s Samuel Clement, “but young people there are really keen to try new things, and sales of charcuterie are starting to rise.”

Clement is also confident his products have the edge over US competitors.

“US meat uses hormones that are banned in the European Union,” he said, “and here at Cooperl we’re going a step further, we sell pork that’s free from antibiotics, which is really important for the Chinese market.”

Label in Chinese /CGTN Photo

He doesn’t necessarily believe that a China-US trade dispute is good news for his business, though.

“The problem is, there isn’t really another market for some parts of the pig, like the feet and the head, which we don’t eat in the West, so US pig farmers will keep selling to the Chinese market, even if it becomes very expensive for them,” he said.

In theory, the pork industry is just one of many sectors in Europe that could benefit from a China-US trade dispute; the Chinese list of products being hit by duties includes cars and airplanes, creating a gap that European car makers, and aerospace giant Airbus, could seek to fill.

But economists say global markets are now so interlinked, it just isn’t that simple.

“If you look at European car exports to China, they are mainly from cars that are assembled in the US, and that’s essentially the premium brands from Germany – the others assemble in China,” trade expert François Godemont told CGTN.