Strengthening the pig sector continues with support for breeding sow farmers

The approximately 1 billion forints of funds disbursed in recent days for this purpose aims to alleviate long-term market difficulties and also contribute to maintaining the viability of domestic pig farming, announced István Nagy, Minister of Agriculture, on his social media page.

The Minister emphasized that the funds disbursed in recent days amounted to 20,000 forints per breeding sow

Accordingly, a total of approximately 1 billion forints of small agricultural support was provided to 495 breeding sow farmers. The aim of this support is also to alleviate the economic difficulties of the Hungarian pig sector, with particular regard to reducing the loss of income for breeding sow farmers. Following the unfavorable period in 2022, the pig sector faced serious economic challenges again in 2025, which resulted from the general decline in demand, market uncertainty, and disruptions caused by animal diseases. There are no EU resources that can be mobilized quickly and effectively to deal with similar extraordinary situations, and member states can only provide the so-called small amount of agricultural support, the individual producer framework of which is determined at EU level and is quickly exhausted. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture has initiated a temporary increase in the framework for the sector’s players with the European Commission, the minister emphasized.

Preservation of the domestic breeding sow population is particularly important, as it ensures the continuity of domestic pork production in the long term

In order to offset the oversupply in the pig market, the government has previously created the possibility for farmers engaged in pig farming and breeding to benefit from a loan moratorium. In addition, interest-free and cost-free working capital loans are available to livestock farmers within the framework of the MFB Agricultural Working Capital Loan Program, and a new substructure of the Agricultural Széchenyi Card is also available, which offers interest-free working capital loans specifically to pig farmers to improve their solvency. Overall, these measures serve the stability of the domestic pig sector, the income security of farmers and the continuity of the Hungarian food supply at the same time – emphasized István Nagy.

AM