Dear readers,
European pig and piglet prices are stabilizing, lets see some good news from the industry:
- Cees and Jeanette van den Broek, at their closed pig farm in Oud Gastel, West Brabant, are the first farm to meet the new quality requirements set by Holland Varken Quality. They raise 450 sows and their corresponding finishers. The new quality system was an initiative of pig farmers and slaughterhouses developed to ensure product quality within the sector more efficiently and effectively, with approximately 100 rules and regulation to be respected.
- Germany’s fourth-largest sausage manufacturer, the Wolf Group operates three production sites in southern Germany and employs 1,800 people. With its recent acquisition by Morliny Foods Holding, the Wolf Group is moving under the umbrella of the Chinese meat giant WH Group(Smithfield).
- The Spanish Costa Food Group will invest in Paraguay to open a meat processing plant in the city of Naranjal . The project will be developed in conjunction with a local company and the objective is to boost pork and swine production in the South American country. It is also a way to assure your access to the Chinese market.
- Stakeholders and specialists from the Polish livestock industry established the Polish Biosecurity Association(PBA). The activities of the PBA will focus on promoting biosecurity standards, certifying biosecurity levels and auditors, organizing training courses and workshops for breeders, and actively participating in research projects conducted at the national and EU levels. The Association will also represent the interests of its members to public administration and industry institutions, and promote best practices and education in biosecurity, raising awareness of the importance of biosecurity in animal production.
- The Philippine government is launching a large-scale swine repopulation program for 2026. The Department of Agriculture plans to acquire 30,000 breeding gilts to restore the national pig herd and strengthen local production capacity. The procurement will be funded under the government’s repopulation program worth approximately 23,5 million €, approved by Congress.
Events calendar:
- CAMFOOD in Phnom Penh is an annual international trade fair with a clear focus on Cambodia’s food and beverage industry. The fair will take place on 3 days from Wednesday, 22. October to Friday, 24. October 2025.
- The China-Portuguese-Speaking Countries Economic and Trade Expo (C-PLEX) is a platform for economic and trade exchange between China and Portuguese-speaking countries held at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel Convention & Exhibition Center on 4 days, from Wednesday, 22. October to Saturday, 25. October 2025.
- The KazAgro/KazFarm Astana Expo is a prominent agricultural and livestock breeding fair. The event is held in the capital city of Kazakhstan on 3 days , from Wednesday, 22. October to Friday, 24. October 2025.
- The Kaohsiung Food Show is a food industry trade show organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA). The fair will take place on 4 days from Thursday, 23. October to Sunday, 26. October 2025.
Going Blind
The traffic light coalition governed Germany from September 2021 until its collapse in November 2024. With the split of the ministerial chairs between the different colors, the greens ended up running also the agricultural ministry. The person in charge will certainly enter in history: a vegan Muslim decided about the faith of the swine industry! The result: a survey conducted by the German Pig Farmers’ Interest Group (ISN) found that approximately one-third of the sow farmers would be phasing out their operations within the next ten years. The main reason is the minimum area requirement stipulated by the Animal Welfare Farm Animal Husbandry Ordinance, as well as housing conditions in breeding centers, which require extensive renovations. Also, the current economic situation of the country does not allow the continuation of the financial support for the rebuilding of the farms.
Another measure allocated disproportionate support for the meat substitutes and eliminated meat from the menu of some institutions controlled by the federal government. What is the reality? Beyond Meat shares tumbled as much as 58% on last Monday after the plant-based meat maker announced an early settlement of an exchange offer with its bondholders through the issue of fresh shares and notes to manage its debt. Shares of the company were last trading at $0,7285… The stock hit a record high of $239.71 in July 2019, just months after a blockbuster debut. We should follow the leaders without going blind!
