"If we can't export, there will be too many pigs."

GironaIt's raining on already soaked ground for the Catalan livestock sector. Barely two months after the First cases of contagious nodular dermatosis that put cattle farms throughout Catalonia on alertAn outbreak of African swine fever in the wildlife of Collserola has triggered alarms, now on the country's pig farms. Pig farming is the main activity in the sector, with almost 8 million head of cattle and more than 600,000 farms, ranging from large-scale operations to small and medium-sized producers, especially in Lleida, Central Catalonia, La Garrotxa, and La Selva. This economic engine not only supports the farms themselves, but also employs thousands of workers, from feed production and marketing to transportation, machinery manufacturing, slaughterhouses, and meat processing plants. On the first working Monday after the outbreak, the volume of work in the sector remains relatively normal, but the atmosphere is tense due to fear and uncertainty about how the disease will progress. Within a 20 km radius of the outbreak, where there are about thirty small farms, the movement of pigs in and out is restricted. Outside the restricted radius, but very close to the border, Oriol Rovira Costa, from Lluçanès, has a piglet farm with 300 sows that produce about 8,000 pigs a year: "We don't know what will happen. We understand that if we used to export 20% within Spain and now we can't," he explains. The official statement from the slaughterhouses is that no significant changes are expected in the slaughter forecasts this week, although local producers claim that their first orders were canceled today. "We hope that the government and the large companies that dominate the market will restructure so that the supply chain can continue. On the farms, I have batches every 15 days: I can't tell the sows not to breed when I inseminated them 100 days ago," Rovira adds.

The Barcelona region cannot export to China

Pork exports are one of the pillars of the agri-food industry in Catalonia, representing 19% of total food and beverage exports in 2024. According to European regulations, within the Union, once an outbreak of swine fever has been declared, pork can be traded without problems. However, outside the continent, it depends on each case: if Spain has signed a regionalization agreement, as with South Korea, the Philippines, or the United Kingdom, livestock outside the infected protection zone can be sold without issues. If it has not, as is the case with Japan, Mexico, or Taiwan, trade is prohibited, and the Ministry must renegotiate the conditions country by country.

In the case of China, one of the main buyers, the agreed protocol stipulates that, in cases of swine fever, the restriction is not limited to 20 km from the outbreak, but rather applies to the entire province. So, many large companies in Central Catalonia, such as Costa Food, Patel, and Avignon, have seen their exports to the Asian giant halted overnight. "These are days in which the market must be restructured. We believe that everything that is sacrificed in Barcelona and cannot be sent to China should be prioritized at a European level, and then the regions without limitations should take on this export," argues Oriol Rovira.

It's not a danger to humans, but it is to the markets.

In addition to the aforementioned companies, other major players in the Catalan pork industry include Casa Tarradellas, Ganados Gili, and Batallé, along with charcuterie firms like Noel, and slaughterhouses such as Olot Meats. Given the current situation, they are all closing ranks, emphasizing the importance of biosecurity within the sector and strictly adhering to all recommendations and protocols established by health authorities.

They are represented by Interporc, the Spanish organization that brings together all sectors of the white-coated pig supply chain: "We are concerned because, although it is a case involving wild animals, it naturally affects both national and international markets. The public should rest assured that it has nothing to do with human health, but it does affect the health of Interporc. Export restrictions with certain countries last 12 months from the last positive test, and the sector is relying on bilateral efforts to ensure that countries like Japan, "with whom we had a very good market," can have their agreements renegotiated."

The importance of reducing the wild boar population

The outbreak of African swine fever has once again brought to the forefront the need to control wild game populations, a long-standing demand of the livestock sector, not only because wild animals damage crops and frighten livestock, but also because they are sources of diseases like this one. "It's the first time a regional minister has openly stated that the wild boar population in Catalonia needs to be reduced," commented Raquel Serrat, president of Unió de Pagesos, regarding the statements made by Regional Minister Òscar Ordeig. But she lamented: "The sad thing is that they only react when it affects the pig farming sector, which generates millions of euros, and they ignored everything else with tuberculosis, bluetongue, avian flu, or dermatosis. It's not a matter of animal health, but of money, as always."

All of this has highlighted the importance of hunters in controlling wildlife through roundups throughout the season: "We hunters make ourselves available to the administration and we will rise to the occasion, but we are a stigmatized group. It has been shown that it is a necessary social service," argues Joaquim Zarzoso, president of the Catalan Hunting Federation. He concludes: "We have been warning for 10 years that African swine fever would reach Collserola, since it is an area that combines a high density of wild boar with a large influx of people from all over the world."