March 15, 2021

Portugal's 2020 export of pigs for slaughter rises by 85.7% in 2020

Portugal's export of pigs for slaughter increased by 85.7% in 2020 compared to 2019, from 282,181 head in 2019 to 524,012 head in 2020 (+241,831 head), according to 2020 data on the country's pig slaughter published by GPP and provided by INE as preliminary data.

This means that about 10,000 slaughter pigs per week were sent for slaughter outside Portugal. These animals were destined for Spain, and the numbers are a clear sign that the prices paid for slaughter pigs in the neighboring country are higher than those offered by national slaughterhouses.

Concerning pork, Portugal increased its foreign sales by 36.5% in 2020 over 2019, with total foreign sales being 61,927.9 tonnes in 2020 and 45,380.5 tonnes in 2019.

The sale of frozen pork increased by 70.2% from 22,097.3 tonnes in 2019 to 37,620.6 tonnes in 2020.

As for fresh and chilled pork, there was a 0.8% decrease from 2019, going from 12,096.2 tonnes in 2019 to 12,003.3 tonnes in 2020. Offal sales showed a 10% growth going from 11,187.0 tonnes in 2019 to 12,304.0 tonnes in 2020.

The turnover of foreign sales increased by 44.2% in trade value, being  €1.32 billion (US$1.6 billion) in 2019 and  €1.91 billion (US$2.3 billion) in 2020.

- SIMA, GPP (Portugal)