Carlo Vittorio Ferrari runs a 2,000-head pig farm with his brother close to the city of Cremona in northern Italy. He fears for the future of his fourth-generation enterprise because of the conflict in Ukraine prompting a shortage of feed.
Italy is a major international provider of animal feed, Reuters reports, and shares of that are falling quick throughout import-reliant southern Europe.
Hungary, Serbia and Moldova are banning exports in an effort to protect their own farmers. Reuters reports prices for farms such as Ferrari’s have spiked, threatening their future. Many farmers are facing the need to cull animals if factors don’t change soon.
Italy has referred to EU guidelines limiting state assist to the sector to be waived, the article said. Meanwhile, Spain has taken steps to permit emergency purchases of corn from Argentina and Brazil. European farmers say it’s not just about corn – it’s also about soya and by-products that are hard to find.
Ukraine is one of the world’s prime corn exporters. Reuters said the closure of its ports due to the conflict has resulted in a serious impact on shipments.
“The downside is we now have an ideal storm. When the Ukrainian exports stopped, international locations like Moldova, Serbia and Hungary tried to cease exporting as a protectionist step and we discovered ourselves with an enormous downside in our ports,” Michele Liverini, vice-president of livestock feed producer Mangimi Liverini S.p.A., told Reuters.
Spain has the biggest livestock herd within the European Union with about 58.8 million head, according to EU information for 2021 of pigs, cows, sheep and goats. Italy has the fourth largest with about 22.5 million head.
Corn futures on Paris-based Euronext rose to 420 euros a metric ton earlier this month, up about 50% since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reports. Feed shares are being depleted in Spain, a top buyer of Ukraine.
Producers argue that for them to survive, customers need to pay more for meat, milk and eggs. Emilio Rial, director of the Coren group, a large farmers’ cooperative in Spain, said the price of primary meals manufacturing had jumped 40%, Reuters said.
“We will strive to not cross all of it on to the buyer by negotiating with the large supermarkets, however costs will inevitably rise,” Rial said in the article.
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