US shipments of fresh, frozen, and cooked pork in August were estimated at 192,376 MT, marking a 7.1% increase compared to the previous year, according to a recent Pork Checkoff market report. This uptick follows a 14% rise in exports in July. Year-to-date, total US pork export shipments reached 1.6 million MT, representing a 5.2% increase from last year.

The European Union and China have agreed to hold further technical negotiations soon on possible alternatives to tariffs on China-built electric vehicles, although significant gaps remain, Reuters reported, citing the European Commission on Friday.

The US pork industry faces declining consumer interest, with swine genetics firm Genesus warning that prioritising leaner pork has reduced flavour and stalled consumption. Genesus calls for quality improvements to avoid an industry decline, while the National Pork Board promotes studies on pork’s flavour potential and cooking methods to boost appeal.

The UK government is facing pressure from farmers and parliamentarians to address the surge in illegal meat imports, warning of the risk of African Swine Fever (ASF) spreading to British farms. According to data obtained by BBC News, the amount of seized illegal meat has doubled over the past year, pointing to increased organized crime in meat smuggling.

Sri Lanka has reported its first cases of African Swine Fever (ASF), leading authorities to suspend the transport of pigs across district divisions. Dr. Hemali Kothalawala, Director General of the Department of Animal Production and Health, confirmed the outbreak and stated that an official gazette notification is being prepared.

Monitoring of intestinal pathogens and their resistance in fattening pigs was carried out at the initiative of the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders within the framework of a joint project with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) ‘Ensuring Animal Health in Ukraine’ at the Research Centre for Biosafety and Environmental Control of Agricultural Resources of the State Agrarian and Food Academy of Ukraine (Biosafety-Centre).

European scientists have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm capable of interpreting pig sounds, aiming to create a tool that can help farmers improve animal welfare, reported Reuters.

So far, 175 pig farms have been bought out with the voluntary exit scheme created by the Flemish government.

Cheap imports, regulatory burdens pressuring farmers.

At the beginning of the third decade of October, live pork purchase prices remained at the current level, according to the results of the weekly monitoring of the analytical department of the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders.

It looks like the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus in western Germany isn’t going to be over any time soon. In the Bergstraße district in the south of the state Hesse, the death toll has risen considerably amongst the wild boar population. This has prompted authorities to expand the current core zones.

Work done at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will focus on gene and protein level detection.

Testing for Salmonella in pigs will be suspended as of January 1, 2025.

Over the past eight years, Germany has seen a steady decline in pig slaughter numbers. At its peak, around 60 million pigs were slaughtered annually, but this year, only an estimated 44.5 million pigs are expected to be processed. Political challenges and stricter regulations have increased pressure on the meat industry.

African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread globally, with new outbreaks reported in India, South Korea, Vietnam, as well as in Italy, Romania, and Ukraine.

Italy’s Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida, expressed great satisfaction with the reopening of the Canadian market to imports of Italian raw hams, including those from areas affected by African swine fever (ASF) in restriction zone 2. Italy is the first European country with ASF cases to receive approval from Canada for the export of products from these regions.

The EU has a sizeable livestock population, according to a recent livestock report from the European Commission. At the end of 2023, there were 133 million head of pigs, 74 million head of bovine animals and 68 million head of sheep and goats.

The analytical department of the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders reports on the difficult economic situation for the Ukrainian pig industry.

Ukraine is implementing a large-scale project called ‘Keeping Animals Healthy in Ukraine’, which aims to assess the risks of disease spread, raise awareness and provide advice on biosecurity and swine diseases, and improve disease surveillance and control at all stages of pork production. The initiative is supported by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders (AUPB).