Dear readers,
Some good things from the pig industry:
- According to an article published last week in Nature Medicine, a lung from a genetically modified pig has been transplanted into a person for the first time, at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou. The recipient, a 39-year-old man in China, was brain dead, but the organ survived for nine days. The transplanted left lung was taken from a pig with six genomic edits that was created by research firm Chengdu Clonorgan Biotechnology in China. This included removing three genes to reduce the risk of the organ triggering an immune response and adding three human genes to protect the organ from rejection.
- The Regional Minister of Agriculture, Water, Livestock and Fisheries, Miguel Barrachina, stated that his department will allocate €5.4 million this year, benefiting 300 livestock farms in the Valencian Community, to ensure their modernization.
- Agricultural organizations in the Netherlands are collaborating to establish the Reporting Center for Incorrect Facts, in order to tackle misleading perceptions of the agricultural sector and ensure that accurate information receives the attention it deserves. People can report inaccurate information in advertising and educational materials about the agricultural sector to the reporting center. A team of fact-checkers will review the reports.
Events calendar:
- The ASEAN FOOD & BEVERAGE EXHIBITION (FNB ASEAN) is a leading trade fair specializing in the food and beverage industry within the ASEAN region The fair will take place on 3 days from Tuesday, 02. September to Thursday, 04. September 2025 in Nonthaburi, Thailand.
- AGRIFOOD TAIWAN and AGRILIVESTOCK & FEED TAIWAN are part of Taiwan Smart Agriweek, recognized as the leading trade fair for modern food production and livestock farming in Taiwan. It will take place on 3 days from Wednesday, 03. September to Friday, 05. September 2025 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei.
- Agrokomplex is an international trade for the agricultural and food industries held at the International Exhibition Center in Nitra, Slovakia, which takes place on 5 days from Wednesday, 03.09.2025 to Sunday, 07.09.2025.
- Riga Food is a leading trade fair for the food industry, held annually at the International Exhibition Centre Kipsala in Riga, Latvia.Riga Food takes place on 3 days from Thursday, 04.09.2025 to Saturday, 06.09.2025.
- The “Inter Food EXPO“, held at the Yerevan Expo Center in Yerevan, Armenia, is an international trade fair for the food industry. It takes place on 3 days from Friday, 05.09.2025 to Sunday, 07.09.2025.
- The National Landbouwvakbeurs Assen is an annual agricultural fair held in Assen, Netherlands, attracting a wide array of companies from the agricultural sector, including livestock technology. It will take place on 3 days from Tuesday, 02. September to Thursday, 04. September 2025.
Harvest
China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced it will begin purchasing frozen pork for its central reserves in a bid to stabilize the pork market. What a reform…
The Netherlands don’t need this. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS) 52 % of the meat slaughtered in the Netherlands consists of pork, but the buyback scheme has reduced the supply of pigs. The number of pigs reached 9.96 million on April 1, 2025, compared to almost 12 million five years ago, the total kilogram of pork slaughtered last year was 17 percent lower than in 2020. By the end of this year, pig farmers will be joining the LBV+/LBV scheme resulting even fewer Dutch pigs will entering the market. Overcapacity at slaughterhouses is looming, and restructuring of slaughter capacity seems inevitable. We may see a reduction in the export of live piglets and fattening pigs to Belgian and German slaughterhouses.
Meanwhile Estonia is experiencing the largest outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in the last decade. ASF was confirmed at the country’s largest farm, Ekseko, which housed over 27,000 pigs. The farm supplied about 45% of all piglets in the country, so the consequences of the epidemic could be devastating for the entire industry. Despite the crisis, supermarket shelves remain full and pork prices are stable for now, but about 70% of the meat on the domestic market was locally produced, so things could change.
An international group of researchers conducted by specialists from the Plum Island Animal Disease Centre (USDA, USA) in collaboration with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). has concluded that a promising vaccine against ASF can effectively protect pigs only against certain strains of the virus, while it is almost ineffective against other. The article was published in the journal Vaccines.
Lets see what we get from the autumn harvest.
