Page 15 - Australian Pork Newspaper

ASF help welcomed in Germany
ROMANIA was the For the past year and Brandenburg in Sep- previous edition on
only country in Europe to register new cases of African swine fever in domestic pigs in the 10 days to March 21.
a half, pig farmers have been experiencing heavy financial losses.
tember 2020.
Since then, cases have
March 6.
So far this year, one
Cases continue to rise among the wild boar populations of Germany and seven other Euro- pean countries.
These fiscal challenges have arisen from a simul- taneous increase in costs of control measures and the loss of some markets for their pork.
also been detected in the wild boar populations of neighbouring Saxony and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania.
or more outbreaks have now been registered through this system by 13 countries.
In the eastern German state of Brandenburg, the struggle to control Af- rican swine fever began 18 months ago in Sep- tember 2020.
Currently, the minis- ter’s team is negotiating for more financial sup- port from the European Union.
The total comprises 2475 in Brandenburg as of March 18, 1122 in Saxony as of March 16, and 17 in Mecklenburg- West Pomerania.
Recording the most outbreaks has been Po- land 785, followed by Germany 452, Bulgaria 225, Romania 220 and Slovakia 174.
Since then, the infec- tion has spread to more than 2400 wild boar in seven districts of the state, according to its government.
Effective control meas- ures – including wildlife fences, and the removal of fallen animals and wild boar from restricted areas – have resulted in a period of several weeks with no new cases in some parts.
So far this year, 2318 outbreaks among wild boar have occurred in Europe.
In Poland, total out- breaks in wild boar this year stand at 707 as of March 18, according to the nation’s chief veteri- nary officer.
A range of controls on the wild population and restrictions on domestic pigs have been largely successful in keeping the German pig sector free of ASF.
This is according to the Animal Disease In- formation Notification System operated by the European Commission in its latest update dated March 11.
Latest reports confirm 113 outbreaks in wild boar suspected in the period February 13 to March 3.
Eight areas have been infected with ASF over an area of 4800sq km in Germany.
ASF situation in wild boar elsewhere in Eu- rope
Also registering new cases through this system were Hungary, Italy, Latvia and Lithuania.
Across the three af- fected states, only four swine herds have tested positive for the ASF virus.
As a result, some re- strictions can now be lifted, according to the Brandenburg minister for consumer protec- tion.
This represents an in- crease of 141 from the
These involved a total of 151 animals.
Affected were two commercial farms and two backyards.
Affected pig farmers have welcomed the evi- dence that federal and state governments are addressing their diffi- culties, and are working together on solutions to keep pig production fi- nancially viable.
Despite the successful disease controls, restric- tions on farms in these states have brought pro- longed hardship to pro- ducers in these areas.
ASF cases in German wild boar pass 3600
Visiting one of the affected districts in Brandenburg last week, federal agriculture min- ister Cem Özdemir as- sured the region’s pig producers of his support for their situation.
Across three states of Germany, the number of confirmed ASF cases in wild boar has reached 3614.
This is the total since the first infection in
Eight areas have been infected with ASF over an area of 4800sq km in Germany. Photo: Assunta Piu
Eat-out rates were as low as 15 percent during the first lockdowns.
Big year in foodservice
Volume Foodservice Channel Manager
DESPITE another turbu- lent year from a foodser- vice perspective at Aus- tralian Pork Limited, the overall eat-out rate – the proportion of the popula- tion eating out for lunch or dinner on any given day – recovered to 28 percent, after the low of 2020 at 25 percent.
The overall improvement was driven by increases across all meal occasions.
Looking at state by state results, the largest recovery was seen in Tasmania – shifting from 17 to 26 per- cent – and Victoria, moving from 24 to 31 percent.
Chicken and beef have remained the base proteins in foodservice, despite chicken experiencing a slight dip and beef holding steady.
tive on-trend recipes that APL is developing through the foodservice program – these will be published through trade media and shared with foodservice vendors.
Remaining strong, NSW was at 33 percent – how- ever this was largely sup- ported by increases at re- gional locations, presum- ably due to hyper-local travel with neighbouring state borders closed for a period.
Pork has slowly gained share since a dip in 2019, and the combination of fresh and processed pig products make it the third most-eaten meat in food- service overall.
APL is also developing new value-added lines that are quick to create and build increased margins, which will assist in the face of current labour shortages.
Notably South Australia had a slight decrease by 1 percent.
Our research also allowed us to deep dive into venue types and meal types.
While eat-out rates were as low as 15 percent during the first lockdowns, the data coming through for the first three months of 2022 has seen a recovery to approximately 33 percent, which is encouraging.
Pork remains on the menu in 69 percent of cases where foodservice meals are purchased and continues to be on the per- manent main menu of es- tablishments, with the pro- portion of pork being on the special’s menu holding steady in 2021.
For all pork meals eaten in clubs, pubs, bars and Returned and Services League venues there was a notable decrease by 11 percent for roasts, as well as a decrease of 7 percent for grilled meats in clubs and RSLs.
For further informa- tion, contact APL volume foodservice channel manager Esther Volpe at esther.volpe@australian pork.com.au
by ESTHER VOLPE
This presents an oppor- tunity for new cost-effec-
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Australian Pork Newspaper, April 2022 – Page 15