Pork exports to Sweden taking a beating

Neighbours threatening to boycott pork coming from Denmark

Representatives from pork producer Danish Crown and several agriculture associations were called to an emergency meeting in Stockholm in Sweden on Monday to solve a crisis involving a valuable export.

Swedes will not eat meat from Danish pigs that spend their short lives inside narrow cages being overfed with genetically modified feed and antibiotics.

Last week, Swedish supermarket chain ICA banned Danish pork from two of its stores in Skurup and in Göteborg and replaced it with pork produced in Sweden, while a survey in the Swedish newspaper Expressen revealed that three out of four readers were in favour of banning Danish pork. 

Pork exports to Sweden make up 2.5 percent of Denmark's total exports of 1.9 million tonnes a year. 

READ MORE: Danish exports to Sweden gathering momentum

Fixated sows
Swedes do not fixate sows – a common practice in Denmark that involves the animals being strapped down between tight iron bars on a bare concrete floor. These conditions have led to several Swedish politicians and companies calling for a boycott against the Danish pork industry.

Minister steps in
The Swedish agriculture minister, Eskild Erlandsson, has demanded Danish pork producers to improve living conditions for the pigs.

"Those who don't do it should get their ears pulled so hard it hurts," Erlandsson told Expressen.

He offered to give his Danish counterpart, Dan Jørgensen, Denmark's very own Dr DoAnything, a tour around Swedish pig farms.

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