The Catalan government wants us to eat more pork. And to achieve this, it has decided to talk about pork a lot. A whole lot. Statements, press releases, press conferences. And now, an institutional advertising campaign. All pork, all the time. It's a bold strategy. As bold as recommending skydiving on the same day the news opens with a plane crash.

African swine fever (ASF) was first discovered in Kenya in 1910 and arrived in Europe in 1960, where it remained for over thirty years. The virus entered via a flight from Angola to Portugal. Leftover catering from that plane, already infected with ASF, was used to feed Portuguese pigs, starting the epidemic on the continent. And also in our country. This caused serious economic damage to a sector that was already important in those distant decades. Eradication of the virus was long and slow, until in 1994 Spain was finally declared free of ASF. But from then until the virus's return to Collserola just a few days ago, the pig farming sector has never been free of the disease. In between, there was another one: classical swine fever (CSF).

The Catalan and Spanish pork sector (farmers, integrating companies, business associations, and slaughterhouses) claims to be well-prepared for the arrival of African swine fever (ASF). In fact, many predicted that the epidemic would reach Spain sooner or later. In any case, there doesn't seem to be any panic. Reference prices for pork at Mercolleida have fallen between 10 cents and 5 euros following the declaration of the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak detected in Catalonia, the Lleida market reported on Monday. The price boards for fattening pigs, sows, and piglets met in Mercolleida in an extraordinary session to analyze the market situation after the ASF cases.

It doesn't affect humans. I repeat: it doesn't affect humans. But it has already set off alarm bells, paralyzed exports, and threatens the Spanish livestock sector. Welcome to the latest episode of economic panic: African swine fever (ASF). This week, six dead wild boars were found in the Collserola forests near Barcelona. The cause: an animal virus that has been spreading from Africa for decades and has arrived (no one knows exactly how) in a nature reserve with no pig farms, livestock operations, or transport of animals. Collserola is a green lung, a protected area where hikers and cyclists stroll. No industrial logic justifies ASF's arrival. But it's here.

African swine fever is approaching. This disease, endemic to the African continent, was declared in Georgia in 2014 and has since spread throughout Asia and Eastern Europe, reaching Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and, just a few months ago, northern Italy. All predictions indicate that sooner or later it will also reach Catalonia via the Pyrenees. "I've always been optimistic, but now I'm not so sure it won't arrive," admits biologist Fernando Rodríguez, one of the most renowned researchers in animal health at IRTA (Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology). So, it seems to be just a matter of time. "The whole operation is collapsing," adds Rodríguez, referring to the great importance of the pork sector to the Spanish and, above all, Catalan economy. A single case of swine fever in our country, even in a wild boar, would force the closure of borders to all exports. We are talking about a sector that sends almost half of its production to international markets, with a turnover of €2.898 billion in 2021 according to Prodeca (the Catalan government's public company). In fact, this amount represents more than 60% of all meat exports and a quarter of all Catalan agri-food production, making the pork sector... one of the driving forces of the country's economyObviously, with the border closures, all that money will be in serious danger.

Tracjusa, the renovated Juneda slurry treatment plant (Garrigues) that will use a new gasification system produced with solid fuels from urban waste, will begin operating in the first quarter of 2027. This was announced today by the managers of the GAP livestock cooperative, which with the Griñó Group is co-owned by another group that requires the combustion of domestic waste supplied by Griñó (up to a maximum of 45,000 tons per year).