Eight million pigs and 3.2 billion in exports: a snapshot of the Catalan pork industry

With more than 8 million animals and nearly 3.2 billion euros in annual meat exports, representing 52% of Spanish international sales, Catalonia is one of the major hubs of the pork industry in Europe. The appearance of two cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) in two wild boars last week in the municipality of Cerdanyola del Vallès (Barcelona) threatens to particularly affect the nearly 1 billion euros of Catalan exports that are destined outside the European Union (EU), according to the conseller of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, Òscar Ordeig. Meat production in Catalonia reached nearly 2 million tons in 2023, according to the latest annual sector report published by the Generalitat, representing more than 40% of the total production in Spain. Lleida is the province that dominates the Catalan pig census, with more than 4.5 million animals, 57% of the total, followed by Barcelona, with nearly 2 million (25%), Girona, with 830,000 animals (10%), and Tarragona, with ...