Safe thus far from the inroads of African swine fever virus (ASFV or ASF) behind the vast moats of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN), Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ: PPC), and other U.S. meatpackers appear to be positioned for potential profits as China bans importation of German pork following the first case of ASF in Germany. Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND) could also see gains from sharply reduced European meat imports to Asia. How much the meat and plant-based meat sectors benefit from the bans also depends on other factors, such as their ability to meet demand, however.
The discovery last week of a single wild boar dead of African swine fever, or pig Ebola, near Germany's border with Poland triggered an immediate disruption of the international pork supply. Germany is the biggest European producer of export pork, with an approximate total commercial herd of 26 million swine.
South Korea banned importation of German pork products immediately, while the Philippines followed suit on Sept. 12. GMA News reported that the Philippine Department of Agriculture issued a statement saying "all shipments of pigs, pork and pork products from Germany into the Philippines will be confiscated by all DA-Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) veterinary quarantine officers at all major ports of entry."