Cajamar and INTERPORC presented a new book about the challenges of the Spanish pig sector
This new book contains an exhaustive and updated analysis of a modern and responsible livestock farming model that seeks not only to lead in terms of production volume, but also in quality and sustainability of its processes throughout the entire chain, and that strives to respond to the demands of consumers and society. The publication reviews the social and economic importance of the sector, the new social context of meat production and consumption, the new European policies on environmental and social sustainability and the context of the international market for the trade of pork.
At the beginning of the presentation, Eduardo Baamonde, president of Cajamar, and Manuel García, president of INTERPORC, spoke. Next, Manuel Lainez, coordinator of the work, and Yolanda Parrilla, technical manager of the Porcine Sector at Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias España and one of the authors who collaborated on the book, summarised the main conclusions of the monograph, before giving way to a round table entitled 'How to consolidate leadership', moderated by Alberto Herranz, general director of INTERPORC. Finally, José Miguel Herrero, general director of Food at the Ministry, was in charge of closing the event.
The pig sector is the most dynamic subsector of Spanish livestock farming. It accounts for more than 40% of final livestock production and 16% of final agricultural production. Considering the entire value chain, which includes feed manufacturing, pig farms and associated meat industries, it has an annual turnover of around 38 billion euros and generates more than 400,000 direct and indirect jobs, which are key to establishing the population in rural areas.
With an annual production of 4.8 million tonnes, Spain leads the European Union's supply and is one of the most important players in the global market, with foreign sales of almost 3 million tonnes of fresh meat and processed products to more than 130 countries.
In addition to its macroeconomic dimension, the production and processing of pork is present in practically the entire national territory and is key to avoiding the depopulation of rural areas and ensuring the maintenance of the agro-industrial fabric of inland Spain.
In recent years, while the Spanish pig production model has consolidated its leading position in the global market, the regulatory and social context has been significantly transformed following the implementation of the European strategies 'From Farm to Fork' and 'Zero Pollution', both based on the Commission's Green Deal.
At the same time, society as a whole has changed its perception of production systems, farms, and habits related to meat consumption and their long-term consequences for the environment and health.
Nineteen experts from Cajamar, INTERPORC, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Universities of Lleida, Valladolid, Complutense and Extremadura participated in the preparation of the book. Their contributions are organised around three thematic axes, which share as a common thread the objective of analysing the explanatory factors of the current situation and describing the strategies developed to face the challenges facing the sector.
The first part addresses the recent evolution of the Spanish production structure and its competitive position in the global market, as well as the economic relevance of the pork value chain and its presence in the rural world. In the second part, the authors focus on the issues that concern society and that are the subject of attention in the new regulations regarding the sustainability of livestock activity, animal health and welfare, the organization of supply in cooperative companies and the new applications of the circular bioeconomy to reduce the environmental impact and reuse by-products derived from agroindustry. Finally, the third part of the book is dedicated to the role of animal protein produced by the Spanish farms in a healthy and sustainable diet, as well as the most recent consumption trends of pork and its derivatives on a global scale.
The book also includes two final articles written by leading experts in the field, which address the challenges of internationalisation, differentiation, social and environmental responsibility, and communication and marketing as key elements to consolidate the leadership of Spanish pork and a positive image in the face of global demand.
Regarding the main challenges of the sector included in this work, and which are included in the INTERPORC Strategic Plan for the Pork Sector, the following stand out, among others: the evolution of the value chain towards a more competitive, sustainable and resilient model; investment in R&D&I in sustainability and product, or the promotion of the circular economy. In addition, the book also devotes a large space to another major challenge, the effective communication to society of the true image of the current Spanish pork sector. A reality that is triple sustainable in economic, social and environmental terms, supported by scientific reality and official data.
Cajamar's publishing collection is one of the most important agri-food libraries in Spain, with a wide catalogue of references accessible in digital format and free of charge on the web. Sectoral studies, irrigation management and sustainable crop management are the main cross-cutting themes of the catalogue. The aim of these specialised publications is to bring the most innovative technical developments and the most current reflections on market structures and perspectives to the sector as a whole.
In this specific case, 'The challenges of the pork sector' is the second monographic publication dedicated to the sector, after the publication in September 2018 of 'The pork sector. From uncertainty to leadership' , coordinated by Miguel Ángel Díaz Yubero, whose printed edition is already sold out. In a certain way, the recently presented book constitutes both an update of the arguments collected in the previous work, and a way of rethinking them by including new criteria of global market, social responsibility and sustainable practices.
Furthermore, in addition to these broad sectoral studies, in the Markets section of Plataforma Tierra , the Cajamar Agri-Food Knowledge Community on the website, you can consult economic reports and updated indicators of production, prices and sales abroad, both for pork and for another fifty agricultural subsectors of the Spanish agri-food supply.
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