Icelandic Pig Farms Under Threat

Icelandic pig farms are under threat following a price crash due to excessive import of pork products, reports RÚV.

According to the Chairman of Svínaræktarfélags Íslands (The Pig Farmers Association of Iceland), Hörður Harðarson, if the import of foreign pork products isn’t reduced Icelandic pig farms will no longer be sustainable and will close en masse.

In recent years the demand for pork has increased considerably in Iceland due to an influx in tourism and general consumption. In order to keep up with demand there was an increase in imported pork but Hörður believes this surplus is now harming Icelandic pork producers who have caught up with production.

“We are simply saying that those in charge of these imports have perhaps not fully assessed the situation and have authorised imports that far exceed the demands,” said Hörður. “And that means that in October for example, the sales of domestic pork products was down by 15% compared to the same time last year. All this leads to certain problems for the farmers. We can’t get the product out to the market when it’s been flooded with foreign imports.”

Hörður has called on authorities to limit the import of pork products to relieve the nation’s pig pens which are filling up.

“If things keep going the way they are, if the government does not step in, then this industry will simply go away,” said Hörður.