Europe’s meat-production industry is reeling from the coronavirus, but in a different way than the U.S. industry. While U.S. processing plants have been struggling to stay open amid COVID-19 outbreaks, European producers are having trouble finding storage for products as supply chains are at a standstill because of the economic and social restrictions imposed by governments to slow the disease's spread.
For instance, hotels, restaurants and cafes, mostly closed, normally absorb 35% of Spain's pork output. Smaller retailers accounting for another 38% of consumption have also had their hours curtailed, further impacting sales.
Similar effects are felt by dairy and poultry producers.