Hungarian pork foreign trade: dramatic decline in the first five months

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 08. 11. 12:01

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While the world’s major pork markets – such as the United States, Brazil and the European Union – are mostly experiencing moderate growth or price stability, the sector’s foreign trade indicators in Hungary are showing a significant decline in the first five months of 2025. According to recent data from the Central Statistical Office (KSH), not only live pig exports and imports have decreased spectacularly, but also processed pork exports and imports, both in volume and value – writes Agrárszektor.

International contrast

According to the USDA’s July forecast, US pork production could expand by nearly 2% in the third quarter of 2025, and the producer price of fattening pigs could increase by 15.7%. Domestic consumption may also increase, but exports are expected to decrease by 1%. In Brazil, pork prices rose by 18.5% year-on-year in June 2025, while exports increased by 17.6%. In the EU, on the other hand, slaughterhouse entry prices decreased by 3.1%, but the market remained stable.

Hungarian foreign trade: a deep dive

According to data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Hungary’s live pig exports fell by 30.7% to 10 thousand tons in the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Imports showed an even greater decrease of 49.3% to 15.2 thousand tons. Processed pork exports decreased by 14.5% (to 60.3 thousand tons) and their value decreased by 18.2%. Import volume and value were 23% and 23.3% lower than in the first five months of the previous year.

Domestic Prices and Production

Domestic production is stable for now, but foreign market trends, price fluctuations and rising costs are putting increasing pressure on the sector. According to the Institute of Agricultural Economics, in the first 30 weeks of 2025, the average producer price of domestic slaughter pigs – excluding VAT and transport costs – was 805 HUF/kg, which is 10.2% lower than a year earlier.