The reality of the Catalan pig farming sector has changed drastically in recent decades. Currently, the census reaches 7.9 million head of livestock, almost double that of 30 years ago. This growth has occurred parallel to a reduction in the number of farms, which now house many more animals. According to data analyzed by the ACN, between 1993 and 2023, the ratio of pigs per farm multiplied by five, going from 374 to an average of 1,901 animals per farm.
This business concentration is evident: only eight firms manage 30% of the more than 5,000 farms in the country. The dominant model is “integration,” which, according to Idra data, concentrates around 80% of farmers into just five large companies, a model that researcher Mauro Castro describes as “fragile.”
“"A kind of uberization process has taken place, whereby, just as happened with taxi drivers, farmers are no longer owners of their pigs, but become employees of these large companies."
The Grup Sanejament Porcí, which groups farmers, defends that concentration is inevitable for the sector's survival and does not compromise biosecurity. The coordinator in Lleida, Vicens Enrique-Tarancón, explained that pig farming has gone from being a complement to the farmer's income to a fixed income that helps maintain activity in the countryside.
Profitability and economies of scale are the drivers of this growth, according to UB Economics professor Pere Castell. This expansion, which has allowed for lower costs and increased export competitiveness, has its weak point in environmental costs and the fear generated by African Swine Fever (ASF), especially in key areas such as Osona, Segrià, and Noguera, which concentrate over 38% of the farms.
