Danish bacon up

Denmark's Bacon and Meat Council has predicted that Danish pork prices are set to rise. The organisation points to declining meat production in the United States and flat output in the European Union as the chief causes.

Prices are expected to recover to around 8.5 crowns (€1.14) per kg of pork after dipping to a four-year low of 7.2 crowns in the middle of 2003. This was caused by a supply glut and a strong Danish crown. However stable production in the EU coupled with slightly lower output in the United States and flat to higher production in Brazil and Canada should see Danish pork export prices pick up.

Denmark is the world's biggest exporter of pork. A total of 1.6 million tonnes of meat are shipped each year, which is double the amount exported by its biggest competitors, Canada and the United States.

However, tougher competition in the global marketplace may yet cause the value of Danish pork exports to fall this year.