Dear readers,
Some good news from the pig industry:
- in the last 5 years the export of Spanish cured ham has experienced an increase of 56.5%, exceeding 722.14 million euros in turnover by the end of 2024. China remains one of the main destinations, with exports exceeding 28 million euros in 2024, representing an increase of almost 60% since 2020. Mexico and the United Kingdom have also shown strong growth, with increases of 143.8% and 43.8% in value, respectively, over the last 5 years. Europe is the main market for Iberian ham. France and Germany are the largest buyers, with a turnover of 141.36 million euros and 124.17 million euros, respectively.
- The slaughter weights in Germany are still above the optimal range of the billing masks, pig farmers have already had to accept considerable financial losses due to excess weight. Westfleisch has announced that it will adapt the AutoFOM-MFA billing mask for BestSchwein contract companies from March 3 to March 16, 2025, by increasing the weights with 5 kg
- Unilever U.S. is struggling to find buyers for its plant-based meat business. Total sales in the key U.S. market for meat and seafood substitutes declined to $1.6 billion in 2023 from $1.7 billion in the previous year, according to Euromonitor International and projected sales will erode further between now and 2026. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been critical of plant-based meat products, describing them as “ultra-processed”.
- Israeli-cultivated beef producer Aleph Farms has been forced to slash its valuation as part of an “emergency fundraising” round. Aiming to secure $25M from investors “to stay afloat”, so far expected to raise only $10M in the coming weeks based on reports from shareholder Millennium Food-Tech. The new round would be based on a valuation of $80-100M, representing a 73% drop from the $300M valuation in its 2021 funding round.
Events calendar:
- FOOD EXPO Greece is the meeting point for more than 40,000 professionals from organized retail, wholesale as well as the foodservice sector – making it the leading Food & Beverage trade show in Southeast Europe. It takes place between 8-10 March, at the Metropolitan Expo, near the airport of Athens
- Alongside FOOD EXPO, EuroMeatNews.com will organize a specialized international meat conference regarding the challenges of the livestock and meat industry in Europe, where you will find the best meat producers and processors from Greece and Europe. I have the honor to be one of the speakers. For registrations:
Mexico
While we see a decrease of the meat substitute hype, the pig production is also in a downturn.
In December 2024, the Polish swine inventory was 9.078.300 head, down 7.1% compared to December 2023. Breeding sow numbers decreased by 9.6% to 599.7 thousand head. The number of gestating sows declined 9.9% to 411.4 thousand head. Compared to June 2024, the number of breeding sows decreased by 6.7%.
Two-thirds of Belgian pig farmers who applied for a voluntary buyout (156 of 236) in the context of the nitrogen problem have effectively stopped their operations. The period for requesting payment of the demolition compensation is still ongoing, the period for the closure of the company has ended. 39 different companies submitted an application for the “peak polluters” buyout scheme. Of these, 26 companies have already accepted the offer. Of the 26 companies that accepted the offer, 22 companies have stopped the entire livestock farming branch.
For the same reasons, in the Netherlands, the Minister of Agriculture expects a decrease of the number of the pigs with 1,3 million this year.
Portugal is set to become the second EU nation, after Denmark, to launch a national strategy promoting plant-based food. Portugal’s government is led by the center-right People’s Party, part of the European People’s Party (EPP). This measure is not really according with the general political orientation.
While the Trump “administration” is cutting stuff and funding, bird flu is reaching new areas . A newer variant of H5N1 bird flu has spilled over into dairy cows in Nevada and Arizona. Even more, USDA confirmed H5N1 bird flu in four black rats in Riverside County, California, near two recently affected poultry farms. This is the first detection in rats since 2021.
The Mexican GCMAconsultancy company projected a11.6% drop in pig production in 2025, due to digestive and respiratory diseases that have affected pig herds in the country. Mexico will generate 1.6 M tons of pork, while in 2024 production was 1.8 M tons , according to data from the GCMA and the Agri-Food and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP) of the Ministry of Agriculture. This decline will impact self-sufficiency, which will drop from 54% to 49% , while imports will increase to 1.86 million tons , of which 83% could come from the US.
If Trump introduces the 25% tariffs, who will supply pork to Mexico?
