The current crisis is related to a combination of ever increasing costs and a low pig price. “Rising raw material and energy prices are a big factor,” says Vandepitte. “And in the past two years we have also lost a lot of Asian export markets in Flanders due to an outbreak of African swine fever in Wallonia.”
Corona has also affected the sector, because the slaughterhouses in Germany were closed for a long time. “At the same time, we have to invest more and more in sustainability, in climate measures and in animal welfare,” explains Vandepitte. “As a sector, we feel targeted. The requirements for animal welfare and climate are not translated into better compensation for our end product.”
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