Dear readers,
We always find something good related to the pig industry:
- Hendrix Genetics, in collaboration with the Huanshan Group, has opened the Hendrix Huanshan Nucleus Farm in Yuexi, southeast China. The first 1,000 healthy sows have already arrived at the new nucleus farm, Hendrix Genetics announced in a press release.
- The Spanish ham and sausage company Milena has announced the purchase of a new 11,560-square-meter facility, which will become the largest ham drying facility in the province of Granada. The new facility has the capacity to produce 700,000 hams annually.
- According to the Estonian Ministry of Agriculture, around 62,000 pigs were culled at farms in 2025 due to 11 ASF outbreaks. By the end of the year, Estonia’s pig sector comprised 141 farms with a total herd of 216,500 pigs. In 2026, the ministry will begin accepting applications for new farm construction projects with state support. The impact of the outbreaks is already being felt on the domestic market. Estonia’s pork self-sufficiency rate has fallen from 72% to 50%.The sector is currently operating close to full capacity and struggling to meet domestic demand; any disruption to foreign trade could result in supply shortages.Estonia’s Ministry of Agriculture has announced a €75 million programme to restore the country’s pig sector, including the construction of six new pig farms.
Events calendar:
- The KAZAKH GRAIN & LOGISTIC FORUM 2026 – the key event in Kazakhstan`s grain market and transport/logistics takes place between February 3-4 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, at the InterContinental Almaty 5* hotel (Zheltoksan Street, 181)
- AMVECAJ(Association of Veterinarians Specializing in Swine of the Highlands of Jalisco) 2026, the most important pig farming event in Mexico awaits you with the best speakers, the best exhibitors, the best cutting-edge experience and knowledge, all in a family-friendly atmosphere full of surprises with the best hosts so that your knowledge grows and is filled with experience. The congress takes place between 4-6 February, in Tepatitlan, Jalisco, Mexico.
- The Lisbon Food Affair, organized by Feira Internacional de Lisboa, is focused on three closely interlinked thematic areas: Food & Beverage, featuring a diverse range of products – from olive oil, fish, meat, dairy, and canned goods to innovations in food development; Horeca, focusing on equipment, design, technology, and services for the gastronomy, hospitality, and catering sectors; and Technology, showcasing cutting-edge machinery, equipment, packaging solutions, refrigeration systems, quality control technologies, laboratory services, and logistics solutions tailored for the food industry. The fair will take place on 3 days from Monday, 09. February to Wednesday, 11. February 2026 in Lisbon.
Optimist
Since the last market report there has been an important change in the piglet market. Spanish demand for imported piglets has been picking up again, according to Dutch marketers: in the third week of this year, the Netherlands was already able to deliver 47,000 piglets to Spain, according data from the Dutch export authority RVO. Experts attribute the rapid recovery in piglet exports, firstly, to the fact that African swine fever (ASF) has not spread significantly in Spain. In over 2 months since the ASF outbreak near Barcelona, all cases have been contained in the radius of the protection zone. Proof that radical approach and rightly allocated resources (over 5,000 persons from authorities, military, hunters) can stop the disease. The increasing piglet demand from Spain and Poland triggered one of the highest piglet price increases I have ever seen:+16,5 euros/unit in Belgium. While Poland has to fill up the empty barns mainly due to the opening of the Philippines market, Spain is more likely preparing for the early Easter (5 of April in the Catholic calendar) and the following holiday season.
In the autumn of 2025, when the German pig quotation started to fall, I was asked about my prediction about the moment of the price recovery. I stated Easter of 2026. In that time I was considered a pessimist. Soon the Spanish ASF outbreak followed and I was relabeled as an optimist. As things look now, more signs show to support my approach: optimist !
