Belgium asks the European Commission for support for the pig sector
Federal Agriculture Minister David Clarinval on Monday asked the European Commission for rapid support measures to keep the pig sector afloat.
“The situation is not improving and measures are still absolutely necessary at European level, because national measures are not sufficient. We need a coordinated approach, ”argued Mr. Clarinval at a meeting of European ministers in Brussels.
If, in several sub-sectors of agriculture, the market situation, hit by the consequences of the covid-19 pandemic, has returned to normal, some others are experiencing serious imbalances in their production costs.
“The increase in energy prices in recent months and the increase in the prices of chemical fertilizers, as well as the high cost of animal feed, are reducing the profit margins of almost all animal sectors,” said Minister MR.
By mid-October, twenty countries of the – including Belgium – had already drawn the attention of the Commission to the situation of the pigmeat sector. “Faced with prices which remain extremely low in this sector, it is clear that profit margins have long been negative for breeders”, insisted Mr. Clarinval.