Pork market shocks expected after China bans €1bn of German pork

China said the pork ban was intended to "prevent the spread of the disease”

Despite its relatively small size compared with producers like China or the US, Germany is a heavyweight in the global pork trade -- accounting for 15% of the world's exports in 2017. Picture: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

Pig farmers throughout Europe are braced for a market shock due to most of the €1bn of German pork imports banned by China ending up on the EU market.

Germany is the third biggest pork supplier to China, but when Germany reported its first case of African swine fever (ASF) last week, China banned its pork immediately, in what political and trade analysts said was a warning to Europe not to defy Beijing on a range of issues, ahead of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s video meetings this week with EU leaders.