Dear readers,
Some positive developments in the pig industry:
- After 6 months of stagnation the Spanish Mercolleida pig quotation starts to climb: half cent a week ago, 1,5 cents this week
- China’s pork import rose 11% in April, Spain regaining the leading position with 30% of the volumes
- The Montanche-based business Jamones Casa Bautista has acquired the properties of Jamones Monsalud .Previously, these belonged to Miguel Bosé along with a collective of other investors .The acquisition will enable the Iberian ham producer to broaden its assortment of products .The new site will be functional in one year.
- The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S .Department of Agriculture (USDA) inaugurated the Knipling-Bushland U.S .Livestock Insects Research Laboratory in Kerrville, Texas .This facility, covering 4.800 square meter, aims to safeguard the livestock sector in the United States by creating innovative methods to control and eradicate harmful pests, particularly the New World Screwworm and several types of ticks.
- Red meat inventories in refrigerated storage as of April 30 have decreased in comparison to the same date in 2025, as stated in the USDA’s monthly Cold Storage report. When compared to the conclusion of April 2025, pork stocks have decreased by 4.5% .The reduction from last year, totaling 9.253 tons, comprised approximately 4.989 tons of hams, 2.268 tons of pork ribs, and 2.086 tons of bellies.
Events calendar:
- The 2026 World Pork Expo will take place June 3-4, 2026, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The event showcases pork industry innovations and provides pork producers with education and networking opportunities.
- As the world’s largest dedicated event for animal feed processing, VICTAM International brings together the full industry under one roof. Co-located with GRAPAS Europe and VIV Europe, the event connects professionals across feed, grain, flour and rice processing, from raw materials to finished production. It takes place between 2-4 of June, in the Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs , the Netherlands.
The Heat is On
With 44.91 million pigs processed last year—an increase of 0.6% compared to 2024—the German pork industry noted a minor improvement in the domestic population, while the number of imported pigs for slaughter fell sharply by 43.2% to 760,000.
Tönnies ranked first with 13.3 million pigs processed (+0.8%) and commanded a market share of 29.6% .In second position, Westfleisch experienced a growth of 9.1% to reach 7.53 million head, holding a market share of 16.8% .Together, these two companies make up 46.4% of the total nationwide.In the third spot is Danish Crown, processing 2.97 million pigs (+8.2%) at its Essen (Oldenburg) facility.
The rankings shifted following Vion’s departure: Böseler Goldschmaus rose to fourth place, processing 1.99 million pigs (+8.9%); in fifth was Müller Fleisch with 1.80 million pigs (+2.9%) .In sixth place, EG Südbayern, having managed Vion’s former plants for a year and a half, processed 1.65 million head. Completing the list of the top ten was Tummel with 1.60 million pigs (unchanged), Steinemann with 1.30 million (+10.4%), Willms Fleisch with 1.15 million (+7.9%), and Simon-Fleisch with 1.13 million (+3.3%).
The consolidation of the slaughter business, with the top ten slaughter groups accounting for over 70% of the total, makes the negotiation position of the German farmers more and more difficult, some plant closures leaving entire regions with only one slaughtering option.
Meanwhile a “heat dome” covered the south of Europe, with unprecedented high temperatures in France, Portugal and Spain. The increase of temperatures, sometimes reaching 38° C, determined lower weights in the slaughtering and already poses barriers for the livestock transport, changing the landscape of the Spanish pork evolution. In the last two weeks, the average slaughter weight decreased a total of 2.2 kg, according to the latest Mercolleida report. The heat is on!
