Swine news - Economy

These are the main findings of the latest monthly agri-food trade report published by the European Commission.

According to the presented ranking, the top 20 pork companies produce almost 80% of the total slaughter pig production (4,671.7 thousand tons).

Compared to the January report, significant cuts were made in South American corn harvests and in exports from Brazil and Ukraine, related to the fall in Chinese imports. A decrease in the global soybean harvest and ending stocks was again projected, due to lower production in Argentina.

The anti-dumping investigation into pork imports from the European Union is ongoing.

Poland recorded a more than 7% year-on-year decline in the swine inventory. The share of finishing pigs increased in the herd structure.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the pig slaughter totaled 14.23 million head.

Oilseed processing broke records in December and confirms the industry's good performance. Strong demand for corn further boosts corn shipments, which beat wheat exports.

The European Commission's roadmap sets the stage for an attractive, competitive, resilient, future-oriented, and fair agri-food system.

Spanish agri-food exports reached a new all-time high last year, with 75,090 million euros.

With last year's results, Colombia rose to fourth place in the ranking of Latin American pork producers.

In addition to achieving a production record of more than 600,000 tons, per capita consumption approached 15 kg/inhabitant/yr. Undoubtedly, the outlook for the sector's future is promising in the short, medium, and long term.

Nigeria is the leading pork producer in Africa, with an annual output of over 303,000 metric tonnes.

The CAS Ministers of Agriculture discussed the opportunities and challenges that the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union represents for agri-food trade in the region.

São Paulo led exports, with a 44% share of total revenue, followed by Paraná and Minas Gerais.

The pressure came from the advance of the 2024/25 harvest in Brazil, the reduction of withholding taxes on the soybean complex in Argentina, and the exchange rate devaluation.

The considerable increase in live hog prices during the last quarter was reflected in the increase in consumer prices.

The German federal parliament passed the draft bill to amend the Renewable Energy Sources Act to ensure the targeted further development of the biogas plant portfolio.

Exports of animal feed and raw materials will reach nearly 1.04 billion USD in 2024, down 13.2% compared to 2023.

The decline was driven by lower international ovine, pig, and poultry meat prices, which outweighed increases in bovine meat quotations.

Wheat export prices dropped very slightly while world maize prices increased.

Exports of U.S. pork eclipsed previous highs in both volume and value in 2024.

Meat production increased for the first time since 2016, after seven consecutive years of declines.

Spain has reached a new high in piglet imports from the Netherlands in 2024.

Under the supervision of Rosselkhoznadzor, the first batch of pork in 2025 has been shipped from Tomsk to Hong Kong.