In 2025, global pork demand is expected to remain stable, with a modest increase of just 0.2%, reaching 125 million tons. This was reported by the Agricultural Market Information Company (AMI), which forecasts only minor shifts in the global pork market.

Taiwan has reported its first outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) among domestic pigs, becoming the latest region to face the deadly disease that has spread to 68 countries and territories since 2022.

China — the world’s largest pork producer — increased its pork output by 7% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2025, reaching 13.48 million tons. According to Reuters, citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, this surge resulted from accelerated slaughtering amid oversupply and weak consumer demand.

This week, Christophe Hansen, the European Union Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, is visiting São Paulo, Brazil, together with a large delegation of EU agri-food companies to promote European products and explore new export opportunities.

The shortage of qualified personnel in agriculture, particularly in livestock production, is becoming increasingly critical for Ukrainian producers. This was stated by Oksana Yurchenko, President of the Association of Pig Producers of Ukraine (APU) and Project Coordinator at the FAO Investment Centre in Ukraine, during the Ukrainian Livestock Summit 2025, held on October 17 in Kyiv.

This Thursday, China is holding a hearing as part of its investigation into the alleged dumping of cheap pork from the European Union on the Chinese market. Last month, Beijing imposed provisional import duties on EU pork, which remain in force for now.

European pork exporters are increasingly scaling back their presence in Asian markets — particularly in China — following the introduction of import duties and weakening demand in key Asian destinations. The result has been a decline in export profitability and a strategic shift toward domestic sales within the European Union, according to Spanish exporters and Asian traders.

The U.S. agricultural sector is under growing pressure from macroeconomic fluctuations, shifting trade policies, and rapid technological transformation. These trends are outlined in a new CoBank Knowledge Exchange quarterly report, which analyzes the key economic factors influencing American farming and food production.

Brazil’s pork exports reached an all-time high in September 2025, totaling 151,600 tons, up 25.9% from the same month last year (120,400 tons). Export revenues also hit a record USD 368.4 million, marking a 29.9% increase compared to September 2024 (USD 283.7 million).

The Philippine government is launching a large-scale swine repopulation program — in 2026, the Department of Agriculture (DA) plans to acquire 30,000 breeding gilts to restore the national pig herd and strengthen local production capacity.

U.S. pork processors have found themselves at the center of a series of major investigations and lawsuits that have drawn attention from both the public and regulators. Companies are simultaneously facing three major issues — price manipulation, the use of illegal child labor, and worker safety risks in meat plants.

Despite the official end of the “emergency phase” of African swine fever (ASF) and no active outbreaks among domestic pigs, the situation in Estonia remains tense. According to the Agriculture and Food Board (PTA), the risk of new cases is increasing as the virus continues to spread rapidly among wild boars.

September marked a downturn for Germany’s pig market — prices for slaughter pigs and piglets declined, while demand from processors and retailers noticeably weakened.

The suspension of the U.S. federal government has halted key statistical publications from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) right in the middle of the autumn harvest, Reuters reported. The shutdown has created serious difficulties for farmers, exporters, and commodity traders who have lost access to official data on crop yields, exports, prices, and market trends.

In 2026, Brazil’s total meat production is expected to reach 32.3 million tons, setting a new historical record. The data was released by the National Supply Company (Conab) during the presentation of the 2025/26 Agricultural and Livestock Outlook, held on September 18 in Brasília.

The African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in Croatia has intensified in recent weeks, spreading to several large farms, according to local media reports. The Osijek-Baranja region — previously the epicenter of the epidemic — remains the most severely affected area.

Despite a total tariff rate of 57%, U.S. pork exports to China in July 2025 remained steady year-on-year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). The export volume reached 36,461 metric tons.

After the devastating African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreaks in 2019 that wiped out about 25% of Bulgaria’s pig population, the country has gradually restored its pork production. However, industry representatives acknowledge that the new balance remains highly fragile.

Analysts from the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders (AUPB) summarized Ukraine’s pork export and import performance from January to September 2025.

The Edem farming enterprise from the Lviv region has become one of the first in Ukraine to implement a contract pig fattening model — a modern cooperation format between producers that allows for more efficient resource use and expansion of production without significant capital investment. The farm’s owner, Zoya Chaklosh, shared her experience in Kurkul.com’s special project “Feeding Other People’s Pigs Is Profitable — The Contract Fattening Model.”