Even the Spanish King helps the growing pig sector

The Spanish King was personally present last week when the Spanish Ministry, delegated by the Spanish Minister of Agriculture, signed several agreements with representatives of the Chinese government. A regionalization principle was agreed upon for the Spanish pig sector in the event of an African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak. This is a strategically significant development for the Spanish sector, which annually exports billions of euros worth of pork (primarily by-products) to the Asian country. Last year, this represented a total value of €1,1 billion out of a total of €3,7 billion in exported products.

Spain charts its own course
China's recent imposition of import tariffs highlighted the potential negative impact of disrupted trade relations on the pork supply chain. The provisions of the agreement now reached have significantly strengthened the foundation of the country's pig sector and significantly reduced the future impact of an ASF infection.

This further demonstrated that Spanish advocates appear to be doing a good job. When Chinese authorities announced tariffs on European pork in September, for example, the large Spanish processor Litera was offered significantly lower rates than Dutch processors. While Vion could expect tariffs of over 30% and other Dutch slaughterhouses 20%, Spanish Litera was imposed tariffs of around 16%.

There was also good news for the Spanish sector in April of this year when the country reached an agreement with the Chinese people Reached a resolution on relaxed regulations for a number of by-products, including pig stomachs. INTERPORC, a non-profit organization representing the entire pig farming chain, also appears to have a key role to play. Because much production takes place within large, integrated chains, INTERPORC, in which pig farmers and processors are represented, appears to be more united and able to conduct its work with a single objective—a strong position for the entire chain.

Strong growth in the number of slaughters
Meanwhile, the number of pig slaughters in Spain continues to rise rapidly. According to figures from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, 5,1% more pigs, or an impressive 1,9 million, were slaughtered through September compared to the first three quarters of last year. This brought the number of pig slaughters to 41,5 million. Meat production even grew by 7,7%, or 260.000 tons, to 3,89 million tons.

According to figures from the same ministry, Spain has imported approximately 4,1 million live pigs, primarily piglets, so far this year, 600.000 more than last year. As the number of slaughters is increasing more rapidly, the production of Spanish sows also appears to have significantly increased.

Exports are growing again
Up to and including September, Spanish exporters managed to export 934.000 tons of pork products outside the European Union. This was significantly more than the 881.000 tons in the same period last year. Because production in tons is increasing faster than the volume sold outside the European Union, more product will also have to be sold to buyers within EU member states.