EU faces pork price “shock wave”

With a ban on gestation-sow stalls set to become law on Jan. 1, EU hog producers are warning that pork prices will rise significantly as the production mandate is expected to force many farmers out of business.

While animal rights groups welcome the move to eliminate the stalls, the cost of applying the ban is expected to reduce pork production and usher in higher prices for Europe's consumers. "We are at the beginning of a shock wave," said Jean-Michel Serres, chairman of the French pork producers group FNP.