Dear readers,

It’s a period of “business as usual”, first we take the good part of it:

• Defra, the Department for Business and Trade, the AHDB and the UK Export Certification Partnership (UKECP) made an agreement for pork exports to China from Cranswick’s Watton plant and Scotland’s Brechin plant. During the Covid pandemic in 2020, China suspended export licenses from numerous UK pork factories following outbreaks in the sites, the two above mentioned plants being the last ones t resume exports. During 2023, China bought around £180 million in pork products from the United Kingdom. After this agreement, the British government estimates a boost in revenue of £80 million with pork products being sent to China again. 
• As part of “The Art of European Pork” campaign, the Belgian Meat Office organized a series of chef demonstrations across India, with events held in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. These demonstrations provided to the Indian professional chefs valuable insights into the quality of the Belgian pork.
• Europe is facing a shortage of veterinarians , especially in rural areas. The German state of Bavaria wants to counteract this by introducing a corresponding „rural veterinarian quota”. Starting in the winter semester of 2025/2026, the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich will reserve some of the study places for applicants who commit to working as a livestock veterinarian with a focus on cattle or pigs in an area of ​​​​demand in Bavaria for ten years after completing their training.
• Christmas gift idea: Stampede Culinary Partners, based in Illinois, USA, may be for sale with a $1 billion price tag. The company has an EBITDA of around $100 million annually. Stampede processes sous vide, prepared meals, plant-based proteins and other varieties such as deli, battered and smoked meats for customers including retail and foodservice operators. In 2023, Stampede stated its sous vide capacity was the largest in North America.

Events calendar:

While the period is characterized by Christmas markets all over the world, we get sometimes news of other pig and pork related events also:

• Feporcyl , the Federation of Associations of Pig Producers of Castilla y León, Spain, will hold its 1st Conference for Pig Producers  on Tuesday, December 17, in Aranda de Duero, under the title “Promoting the development and future of the sector.”

January

The USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) for this year just got a December update, while the 2025 forecast was trimmed slightly. USDA’s projection for 2024 total  production is 15.875 tons lower for pork at 126,20 million tons. For 2025, the pork production projection was lowered with 13.608 tons, at 128,68 million tons.

            We keep getting controversial news from the Danish market, especially form the Danish Crown(DC). In order to halt the downward spiral, DC decided to pay a traditional bonus of DKK 0.7 per kilogram delivered , plus an additional DKK 0.06 per kilogram based on the last five years’ deliveries , out of the retained earnings of recent years. This measure was necessary to reduce the price difference between Denmark and Germany.  Farmers were supposed to stop shipping their slaughter pigs across the border for the higher price. The plan was, in my opinion, compromised in just a few days: the quotation of the market hogs was reduced again last Thursday. No wander that the competitors in the local market, Tican of Tönnies and DanePork, are projecting a strong increase in their slaughtering numbers for the next year.

While DC becomes less significative in the European pig market, MHP, a Ukrainian poultry processor and agri-food player, has submitted a binding offer to acquire Spanish company UVESA, a market leader in the Spanish food industry, especially in the poultry sector. MHP stated that the acquisition is in line with its goal of “consolidating its position” in the global food industry, while securing a long-term investor for UVESA Group.  The interesting part is that UVESA is also supplying Iberian pigs for the main meat industry chains. Will MHP enter in the pork business also?

In the last weeks we could read in the east-European press a lot of news about the increase of the pork price, due to the higher demand and the lack of self-sufficiency. Well,  it may be true, but is not valid for the farmers and the slaughterhouses, we are still fighting between each other for every cent. On our side the biggest concern is balance the supply and production for the next two weeks. Christmas and New Year are in the middle of the week, there are just a few working days. Will we manage to move the necessary numbers or will we have to struggle with a high number of heavy pigs and discounted prices in  January?