EU Pork exports climb, but production surges ahead

In the first half of 2025, European exports have risen slightly, though production grew more strongly in most of the major exporting countries. This imbalance is one of the key drivers behind the continued pressure on pork prices.In the first half of 2025, EU pig meat export rose by 1.9% compared with the same period last year. Exports reached 2,129,222 tonnes, which is still 1.7% below the already depressed level of 2023. Compared to the last strong year, 2021, exports are down by 36.1%.The biggest category of pork exports is frozen pork. A total of 37.9% of exported pig meat is frozen. The exported volume for this category reached 807,503 tonnes in first six months of 2025. The second biggest category, offal, accounts for 30.8% of exports, or in absolute terms 655,861 tonnes. The third most exported product from the EU, pig sausages, makes up 9.2% of exports. After that, the most exported products are fresh meat (7.4%), lard (5.7%), and salted and dried pork (4.8%).Most big exporting countries profited from the stronger exports. The Spanish export rebounded significantly in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period of the previous year. The export volume came in 10.7% higher. Still, exports are 11.7% lower compared to the 826,450 tonnes exported in 2022. In relative terms, Polish exports have rebounded the most. The exports have risen by 41.6% to 162,613 tonnes. Meanwhile, French exports were up by 4.7%, while Dutch exports were practically stable.At the same time, Denmark and Germany saw slight decreases in the first half of 2025 compared to the year before. The Danish export went down by 15.7% to 258,500 tonnes. The German exports were 21.5% lower, at a volume of 146,346 tonnes.Production grows moreThe rise in exports is partly the result of stronger production in Europe’s main exporting countries. In general, however, European production grew considerably more than exports, while demand remained relatively weak. Alongside the recent significant tariffs imposed by China on several major European producers, this imbalance is one of the main drivers of the continuing pressure on pork and pig prices in European markets.This is particularly true for the Spanish pork market. In absolute terms, Spanish production volumes have risen the most. In the first half of 2025, exports increased from 2,506,010 tonnes to 2,688,060 tonnes. In relative terms, that represents growth of 7.3%. Exports may have risen more strongly in relative terms, but in absolute terms production significantly outpaced exports.The German and Danish markets in the mean time became even more saturated as production increased by 3.5% and 1.9% respectively, despite their exports trending significantly lower. Meanwhile, Dutch production was 6.6% lower in the first half of the year, despite stabilising exports.China remains the biggest importerDespite the significant decline in Chinese imports over the past few years, the country still remains the largest buyer of European pork. In the first half of 2025, China imported 577,530 tonnes, representing 27.1% of total European exports. Of these exports, 67.4% consisted of pig offal. In fact, China accounted for 59.4% of all European pig offal exports. However, exports to China are expected to decrease significantly, as the country has introduced substantial tariffs on European producers to curb imports. The second largest importer was the United Kingdom, which took in 19.2% of EU pork exports, or 408,720 tonnes in absolute terms. Other significant export markets were the Philippines (187,520 tonnes), Japan (139,910 tonnes), and South Korea (131,870 tonnes).