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The "pig jam" in the face of lower slaughter capacities in the Corona crisis has by no means been overcome for the Lower Saxony Agriculture Minister Barbara Otte-Kinast.
Nationwide about 750,000 pigs are "on hold", said the CDU politician of the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung".
The situation in the stables has "not relaxed at all".
In the pandemic, fewer pigs are slaughtered to protect against infection.
In addition, several large companies were closed at least temporarily among employees after corona outbreaks.
This led to a backlog of slaughter pigs in agriculture.
Otte-Kinast pointed out the psychological burden on the farmers concerned: “The desperation is huge.” In addition, the producer prices are “extremely low”, so the farmers get little money for their animals.
The meat price had collapsed after evidence of African swine fever in wild boars in East Germany.
As a result, important exporting countries such as China blocked German goods.
"Is it the job of agriculture to feed the whole world?"
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The Agriculture Minister warned that the crisis should be used as an opportunity to rethink agriculture: “Is it really the job of agriculture to feed the whole world?” She asked.
Rather, it must be considered whether regional value chains should not be strengthened.
The Lower Saxony farmer should not be financially dependent on the Asian market.