Just under 26,000 tonnes of pigmeat has been taken off the market so far under the European Commission’s private storage scheme according to official figures covering the first week of the programme.
Denmark and Poland head the usage list at 5933 and 5315 tonnes respectively, followed by Spain (4952 tonnes) and Germany (3418 tonnes) as major applicants to the scheme. The UK’s interest has so far been limited to just 80 tonnes of product.
The 26,000-tonne total equates to 42% of just one week of EU pigmeat exports to third countries, according to the National Pig Association. That was for pre-Russian ban trade levels.
Legs boned account for 15,305 tonnes of the total with bellies boned on 4518 tonnes and hams at 2057 tonnes.
The measure covers storage costs of pigmeat for periods of 90, 120 or 150 days with the first usage report, covering March 9-16, showing traders taking most advantage of the 90-day programme which has accounted for 16417 tonnes of product so far.
