On 13 November 2024, the conference ‘Opportunities and Challenges of European Integration for the Livestock Sector - German Experience for Ukraine’ was held in Hanover, Germany, within the framework of the international exhibition EuroTier 2024 and the professional information trip ‘European Integration of the Livestock Sector - German Experience for Ukraine’, with the support of the German-Ukrainian Agricultural Policy Dialogue project.

China’s pork production dropped by 0.8% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2024, marking the third consecutive quarter of annual decline. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, output during June to September in the world’s top pork-producing nation fell to 12.59 million tonnes. This continued decline reflects a challenging economic environment as consumer demand remains subdued, affecting the country’s massive pork industry, which supplies nearly half of the global pork market.

In the second decade of November, the direction of price movement in the slaughter pig market changed not in favour of producers, analysts of the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders state, citing the results of weekly monitoring.

The June–August litter rate was the highest ever, at 11.72 pigs per litter.

The Swine Health Information Center, Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research and the Pork Checkoff will fund a US$4 million research program to enhance prevention, preparedness, mitigation and response for H5N1 influenza in the U.S. swine herd.

After 20 years of steady decline, the French pig sector seems to be on the path to a recovery, allbeit a small one. In the month of September, 1.863 million pigs were slaughtered in the country, just 0.3% less than last year. “The slaughter figures for pigs are more or less stable compared to a year ago,’’ statistical office Agreste says.

A survey of pork producers on their European integration attitudes found that 24% of respondents consider EU accession to be positive, as it will open up access to new markets.

Prices for pork on supermarket shelves continued to rise in October, according to the results of price monitoring in national retail chains by the analytical department of the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders.

Increased probability that the pigs and poultry on the farm became infected after coming into contact with infected migratory birds, not dairy cattle or other livestock.

Broad-based growth has pork exports poised to set annual records.

For the past two years, Italy has been fighting an intense war with African swine fever (ASF), but there is still no sign of the enemy retreating. In fact, since January 2022, over 120,000 pigs have been slaughtered, mainly in the north of the country, to try and control the spread of the dreaded disease.

Elite police snipers in the Czech Republic have been deployed on a ‘search and destroy’ mission to track down and kill as many wild boars infected with the contagious African Swine Fever (ASF) as possible.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders (AUPB) are finalising the development of an industry standard for biosecurity in pig production. This activity is being implemented within the framework of the project ‘Keeping Animals Healthy in Ukraine’.

November began for live bait market operators with a further strengthening of quotations for slaughter pigs, according to the results of the weekly monitoring of purchase prices by the analytical department of the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders.

For the first time, Vietnam is the main importer of pork from Paraná, while two new markets (the Philippines and the Dominican Republic), which started buying pork this year, are already among the top 10 destinations.

Sri Lanka has temporarily prohibited the slaughter, transport, and sale of pigs to prevent disease spread.

Anvisa (the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency) recently approved the regulation and use of cannabis-based products in production animals.

While more than 600 wild boar infected with African swine fever (ASF) have been found in Alessandria, Italy, since 2022, the province has now recorded its first outbreak involving domestic pigs.

Where the whole of Europe is trying to redesign farrowing pens to combine liberty for sows with no crushing, Australia’s SunPork Group introduced a different type of solution: maternity rings. The idea was properly researched before its launch.

Pork producers around the world are cautious about herd rebuilding. That is mostly related to ongoing uncertainties regarding trade, disease and demand. Logistical challenges and potential impacts from La Niña further complicate the market. This is the summary of the periodical RaboResearch market analysis.