WPX skips another year, now due to Covid-19

While deeply disappointed to cancel this year’s Expo, NPPC’s board of directors unanimously agreed it was prudent…” – NPPC’s president

As was to be expected, this week the news broke that the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, IA, United States was cancelled. Originally the event was supposed to be held early June. That means that the event has been cancelled for a 2^nd year in a row as the 2019 edition was also cancelled, over fears of African Swine Fever being brought into the US.

Allowing pork producers to focus on producing

The event is normally organised by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). In a press release, the NPPC’s president Howard Roth explained: “While deeply disappointed to cancel this year’s Expo, NPPC’s board of directors unanimously agreed it was prudent to make this decision now. By eliminating Covid-19-related uncertainty surrounding the event, we allow producers and others across the industry to focus on the essential role we play in the nation’s food supply system at this critical time.”

The 2021 event is planned to take place in Des Moines, 9-11 June.

European Pig Producers congress

One other major event, supposed to take place in the first 6 months of the year, was cancelled due to Covid-19, being the European Pig Producers congress. That was supposed to be held in the Netherlands, 9-11 June. It will now be held in 2021, new dates will be made public in a later stage.

In an earlier stage, various other pig events and congresses were already cancelled or postponed, like the Victam 2020 (March), London Swine Conference (March/April), ESPHM Congress (May), the British Pig & Poultry Fair (May) and the IPVS Congress (June).

For now, one of the first events on the international pig calendar is the postponed version of Victam 2020. This event has been rescheduled to take place July 9-11, 2020 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Covid-19 Up-date

What impact is the pandemic having on the global pig sector and how are they dealing with it.