Dear readers,
While prices continue to rise almost all over Europe, we share some more good news:
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s trip to China last week provided a fresh boost to the export strategy of Germany’s pork sector. The agreement on a memorandum regarding the regionalization of African swine fever (ASF) marked the beginning of an action the industry had anticipated and waited for many years. This facilitates the restart of the pork(especially by-products) trade with a vital third market.
- Pork reserves in Germany’s refrigeration units reached an exceptionally low level at the end of year 2025 as per the information from the Agricultural Market and Information Company (AMI), which utilized data from the Association of German Cold Storage and Refrigerated Logistics Companies (VDKL). Pork stock in 2025 was 3% less than that of the prior year. In relation to 2022, the amounts held in storage dropped by 46%.
- Pilgrim’s Europe has taken over the genetics firm Hermitage AI, which encompasses its facilities in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire. In 2017, PIC secured the breeding rights from the Dublin-based genetics company, establishing a fresh strategic alliance between the two organizations. An operating agreement involving Pilgrim’s Europe, Hermitage Group, and PIC UK will guarantee the ongoing functionality of the UK boar studs located in Boston and Willingham.
Events calendar:
- SIRHA Budapest, Hungary, is an international trade fair focusing on the food industry, hotel and catering business, bakery and confectionery industry, packaging industry, and gastronomy. “SIRHA” stands for “Salon International de la Restauration, de l’Hôtellerie et de l’Alimentation,” This fair is held at the HUNGEXPO Budapest on 3 days from Tuesday, 03. March to Thursday, 05. March 2026.
- HORECA Baleares Ibiza, Spain, is the premier trade fair for the hospitality, gastronomy, and catering sectors in the Balearic Islands. Held at the Recinto Ferial FECOEV in Ibiza Town, the fair will take place on 3 days from Wednesday, 04. March to Friday, 06. March 2026.
- The FOOD & LIFE event in Munich is a prestigious consumer and sales fair dedicated entirely to the themes of food, drink, and enjoyment. The fair will take place on 5 days from Wednesday, 04. March to Sunday, 08. March 2026.
- The “Chinese Grains & Oils Congress 2026” international conference, organized by APK-Inform Asia, will take place in Shanghai, China, on March 5.The event will bring together leading market participants from Asia and Europe who shape the present and future of the grain and oilseed markets, logistics, and related agribusiness sectors.
The Middle
With the initial occurrence of ASF in Germany during 2020, numerous nations imposed import restrictions on pork from Germany. Shipments to external markets have plummeted from 1. 18 million tons in 2019 to the present figure of 335,000 tons in 2025, a 72% decrease. Despite the ASF situation, exports to the UK have persisted, and a regional agreement has been established with South Korea, which permitted the resumption of deliveries starting November 2023. the Asian market continues to be inaccessible to German exporters. The Asian regions are vital for the complete carcass value chain, as they serve as a destination for pork parts like hooves, ears, and tails—products that have minimal demand in Germany and the European Union. Among these, China stands out as the most significant market: in the year prior to the ban (2019), approximately 600,000 tons of pork were exported there, including around 275,000 tons of by-products. This scenario is the one Spain is afraid of.
The region of Tarragona, located in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, was caught off guard when two of its areas (Calafell and Cunit) were added to the ASF control program, despite the fact that the virus had only been found in wild boar populations in areas that are nearer to Barcelona. Consequently, China declared a halt on pork imports from Tarragona. On the evening of Wednesday, February 25th, a spokesperson from MAPA commented that it was an “administrative mistake,” and confirmed that the suspension of pork imports from Tarragona to China was reversed. Preliminary maps were distributed within Catalonia, Madrid, nationally, and also at the level of the European Commission.
Officials minimized the repercussions of the mistake. Nonetheless, the Spanish Federation of Meat Entrepreneurs and Meat Industries (FECIC) reported that the addition of the two areas hindered certain companies from obtaining export certificates to send pork to China from livestock sourced in Tarragona on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, similar to the situation faced by slaughterhouses and farms in the Barcelona province since November
A strange development of the Danish market : while the piglet prices are continuously increasing, the carcass price is now the lowest in Europe. Access to all markets is granted for the Danish pork and now the farmers are confused. At the current calculations, even Danish Crown declared the support for the hog producers, is better to sell the piglets and keep the barns empty. When will the slaughterhouses face the disruption in supply? It shouldn’t take more, than 3 months.
Whit a high rate of self-sufficiency, French pig industry faces low pork prices from the Spanish neighbor, but also increasing pig prices from the German neighbor. The French pig sector is caught in the middle.
