According to the latest report from the Department of Agriculture, Lleida hosts 60% of fattening pigs and 55% of cattle raised in Catalonia. Despite this prominence in production, Lleida's abattoirs only process 11% of pigs and 14% of cattle slaughtered in the region, a disproportion that highlights the reliance on other territories for the final stage of the meat chain.

During 2025, Catalan abattoirs slaughtered 22.8 million pigs. Of these, Girona led with 10.7 million and Barcelona with 9.5 million. In contrast, Lleida, despite its vast production, only slaughtered 2.5 million animals. A considerable part of Lleida's pig production is sent to abattoirs outside Catalonia, such as Litera Meat in Binéfar, Huesca.

The situation is similar in the bovine sector, where Lleida concentrates 55% of the Catalan herd. Of the 542,612 head of cattle slaughtered in Catalonia last year, most were processed in Barcelona and Tarragona (totaling 301,407), and in Girona (161,940). Lleida's abattoirs only slaughtered 79,202 animals, with some production directed to companies like Fribín in Fraga.

This imbalance is also reflected in the sheep and goat sectors. Lleida owns 43% of the Catalan sheep herd (178,072 animals) and 34% of the goat herd, but only slaughtered 13% of sheep (101,559) and 7% of goats (3,710) in Catalonia during 2025.

The only exception to this trend is the broiler chicken sector. Lleida is the backbone of this sector, with a capacity of 23.7 million chickens on farms and the slaughter of 96.9 million birds in the province. This represents 52% of the production and almost 39% of chicken slaughter in Catalonia, with the presence of key companies such as Avidel and bonÀrea.

Despite the general disproportion, Lleida recorded an increase in pig slaughter in its own abattoirs, rising from 2.2 million in 2024 to 2.5 million in 2025, driven by an increase in the fattening pig census, which grew from 1,735,868 to 2,131,991 animals in the same period.