Since September, North Korean state media have reported the opening of more than a dozen new “pulgogi” restaurants serving beef, pork and ostrich meat, among other dishes. Analysts see the restaurant boom as an attempt by the authorities to showcase rising prosperity, even as the UN estimates that more than 40% of the country’s population remains undernourished.

The UK government has proposed phasing out the use of high concentrations of carbon dioxide to stun pigs before slaughter. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is proposing a transition period of no more than three years, but pig industry representatives warn that they currently see no proven alternative suitable for use on an industrial scale.

China’s purchases of US agricultural products other than soybeans could fall to their lowest level in seven years in 2026. Between January and September, imports of such products totalled just $7.2 billion, raising questions over whether Beijing will meet its commitment to purchase $17 billion worth of US agricultural goods annually.

Pig farmers in Belgium are no longer permitted to perform surgical castration of piglets themselves, while in the Netherlands a court has ordered state authorities to strengthen enforcement of the rules on tail docking. Both rulings have renewed debate over pig welfare and the practical implementation of existing requirements.

The European Commission has revised its EU pork production forecast for 2026 upwards. Output is now expected to increase by 0.5% year on year to around 22.18 million tonnes, compared with a 1% decline forecast in the spring. At the same time, exports could fall slightly due to weaker shipments to China and the impact of ASF on trade flows.

Between January and September 2026, the Netherlands exported 3.75 million piglets, 14.7% fewer than in the same period last year. Spain remains the largest destination, although its purchases fell by 22.5%. Germany imported almost the same number of Dutch piglets.

US pork production is running above year-earlier levels, while domestic demand has failed to keep pace with growing supply. According to CoBank, exports are therefore playing an increasingly important role in balancing the US market, with overseas shipments forecast to increase by 2.9% in 2026.

Digestate — a by-product of the anaerobic digestion of manure, plant material and food waste — could partially replace mineral fertilisers in the EU, particularly in regions with high livestock concentrations. This is the conclusion of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), which says wider use of such fertilisers could reduce the EU’s dependence on imported nutrients and lower costs for farmers.

In 2025, antibiotic use in Spain’s pig sector stood at 549.9 mg/kg of biomass, 11.6% higher than a year earlier. However, compared with 2020, the figure fell by 40.2%, according to the national report of Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Global pork production is forecast by USDA to decline by 0.7% in 2027 to 119.9 million tonnes. The decrease is expected primarily in China and the European Union, while Brazil, Vietnam and the United States are projected to increase production.

The Philippines has increased the volume of corn that can be imported at a reduced tariff rate from 220,000 to 500,000 tonnes. The additional imports are intended to address raw material shortages, stabilise feed prices and curb rising production costs in the pig and poultry sectors.

Between January and July 2026, the value of European Union pork exports fell by 13% compared with the same period last year, to €6.32 billion. The main reasons were lower prices and reduced shipments to China, Japan, the Philippines and the United Kingdom.

In week 44 of 2026, slaughter pig prices remained stable in Europe’s main pork-producing countries. At the same time, demand for piglets across the EU strengthened noticeably as space became available on finishing farms and seasonal supply declined.

Croatia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has established a new infected zone in Virovitica-Podravina County following confirmation of African swine fever (ASF) in a wild boar. The zone includes 26 settlements across several municipalities.

Pork demand in Japan is forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) to remain broadly unchanged in 2027 compared with the previous year. The main factor supporting consumption is pork’s price advantage over more expensive beef.

Between January and September 2026, China imported 1.44 million tonnes of pork and pork offal, down 15.3% from the same period in 2025. Compared with 2020, import volumes have fallen by 66.7%, while offal accounts for an increasingly large share of China’s pork imports.

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has warned that the number of abattoirs in the UK has fallen by around 90% since the 1970s, creating risks for animal welfare and the country’s ability to respond quickly to major outbreaks of infectious disease.

An indefinite ban on the sale of pork and pork products has been imposed in the Moran area of India’s Assam state after 10 tissue samples collected from local markets tested positive for African swine fever (ASF). The restrictions also cover the movement of pigs and pig products between areas.

The Philippine Department of Agriculture has launched a preliminary investigation into the possible introduction of safeguard measures on pork imports. The department will examine whether increased foreign shipments are causing serious injury to the domestic pig sector or pose a threat of such injury.