Dear readers,
Pig prices are rising almost all over Europe and we have some more good news:
- The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating $35 million to form partnerships aimed at addressing the dangers that feral swine present to the nation’s agriculture, environments, and both human and animal well-being .This initiative is part of a larger investment totaling $105 million for the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program, which sees collaboration between USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to focus on reducing feral swine populations .These non-native species inflict over $3.4 billion in damages annually, which includes harm to agricultural ecosystems.
- Corporación Alimentaria Guissona SA, which is a part of bonÀrea, is advancing with the authorization process for a new swine farm intended to rear piglets weighing up to 20 kilograms in the area of Épila (Zaragoza, Spain), as reported by El Economista .This initiative entails an expenditure exceeding €2.4 million .The establishment will accommodate 2,550 breeding sows, 694 replacement gilts, and 6 boars .
- The Segovia Provincial Council announced the guidelines for a grant program worth €150,000 aimed at supporting the recruitment of research and development personnel in meat industry firms. The funding targets businesses engaged in animal feed, nutrition and production, slaughter, processing, marketing, and sales sectors, to employ final-year students, recent alumni, or postgraduate scholars for a duration of no less than ten months .Contracts must be established between September 1st and November 30th, 2026, with the funded initiative needing to be finalized prior to September 30th, 2027.
- A group of scientists from the School of Food Science and the School of Biochemical Engineering at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV) has created “Bloodref,” a technological system that enhances the use of pig blood, a byproduct from the meat production sector, converting it into three valuable components that could be utilized in the food sector and potentially in the pharmaceutical field in the future. The initial component is a hemoglobin-dense extract that can serve as a natural coloring agent for food items. The second ingredient is a protein fraction derived from pig blood plasma using a biotechnological method that incorporates enzymatic hydrolysis and membrane filtration. This technique isolates larger protein structures and fragments that possess foaming and emulsifying characteristics, which can help achieve stability and creamy textures in items like desserts, mayonnaise, and other sauces The final ingredient is made up of bioactive peptides, which are smaller protein fragments that have shown to decrease oxidative stress by about 50% in cell cultures subjected to free radicals, indicating their biological efficacy .As per the project’s projections, this innovative technology could potentially elevate the economic worth of this byproduct by as much as 15 times .This estimation takes into account the yield from the process and the total commercial worth of the three components—natural dye, functional protein, and bioactive peptides—when compared to the existing market price for pig blood as a raw ingredient .
Events calendar:
- The HKTDC Food Expo is Asia’s leading trade and public exhibition for food and gastronomy. It takes place every August at the renowned Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The HK€TDC Food Expo will take place on 5 days from Thursday, 13. August to Monday, 17. August 2026.
Memories
Pig prices are rising almost allover Europe, but not in Denmark. Repeated changes of management and direction of the Danish Crown do not bring the bright future for the pig and pork giant.
Danish Crown is transitioning to a revamped organizational framework aimed at unifying the core functions of the group, streamlining its management hierarchy, and enhancing its competitive edge in the international food industry .In the following two to three years, the firm intends to cut approximately 800 management and administrative roles and realizes savings totaling as much as DKK 500 million(approx.67 million € ). Meanwhile the slaughtering numbers show a delay of 10-14 days between volume and capacity, the slaughtering 250.000 pigs and 3500 sows are constantly postponed.
German meat industry leader Clemens Tönnies is again promoting the idea of a pig price set for an extended duration. He suggests determining a price that covers costs and reaching an agreement with the food retail sector for an initial term of six months. Tönnies shared his proposal at a gathering with more than 350 mostly pig farmers in Emsland, Germany .He is advocating that pig farmers and slaughterhouses each form a committee .These committees would be tasked with calculating a cost-covering price for pigs, taking into account expenses related to piglets, feed, and energy, while also including a profit margin .They would then collaborate to present this price to supermarket retailers .
Tönnies believes that the agreed fixed price could ultimately be set for a duration of twelve months. By extending the price period, he hopes to minimize weekly price volatility and enhance certainty for pig farmers.
In February 2024, Tönnies also pushed for longer-term fixed pricing during a general session of the German producers’ association ISN, where Tönnies expressed that he found a stable price of €2.10 for one year more appealing than a fleeting high of €2.50. The market conditions were significantly different then, the German VEZG quotation had recently been adjusted to €2.10 per kilogram of carcass weight, and ISN reported favorable returns alongside optimistic market forecasts.
Where was he, when the prices decreased? Rising prices also bring up memories.
