February 21, 2022

Spain's swine slaughter and pork production increase 3% in January-October 2021

Spain's total number of swine slaughtered and pork production grew 3% from January to October 2021, compared to the same period in 2020, according to a report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) citing Spanish official data.

Additionally, there was an upward trend in carcass weight. The USDA also cited Eurostat data showing that the Spanish pig herd hit a record 32.796 million swine animals in 2021, a 5% rise compared to the previous year, while the sow herd grew 1%, to 2.635 million sows.

The Spanish pork sector struggled to remain economically profitable last year due to increased production costs, mainly in feed, electricity and labor costs.

Spain is a net pork meat exporter, shipping more than half of its domestic pork production.

From January-November 2021, total Spanish pork shipments rose 5% compared to the same period of 2020.

However, from July through November 2021, Spanish pork exports to China strongly declined by 42% due to lower Chinese pork demand. Other Asian markets for Spanish pork (North America, and Chile) developed positively in 2021 but did not offset losses from decreased Chinese demand since July 2021.

- USDA