Meat industry lobby expects stable domestic consumption this year

By: Trademagazin Date: 2026. 03. 18. 11:53

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This year, domestic meat consumption may increase slightly, but import pressure remains strong and export opportunities are uncertain – said Tamás Éder, the social chairman of the Hungarian Meat Producers’ Association, at a press conference in Budapest on Wednesday.

The head of the interest group assessed that from a meat industry perspective, the previous year was slightly less favorable than could have been expected based on forecasts at the beginning of the year. On an annual basis, the volume of meat production and meat processing increased by 0.8 percent, and the volume of meat product production by 0.2 percent, surpassing the change in the performance of the entire food industry.

He recalled that exports were hindered for months by foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever, so Hungarian meat exports fell by 7 percent on an annual basis. On the other hand, exports of meat products increased, and due to the decrease in imports, the foreign trade balance also improved, with the quantitative surplus of pork approaching 30 thousand tons last year. Despite the unfavorable circumstances, the domestic pig population increased by 3 percent in 2025, and by December the number of pigs reached 2.9 million.

At the EU level, the population increased by a much smaller amount, by 0.1 percent, and Hungary’s share in the EU’s pork production exceeds 2 percent – added Tamás Éder.

At the European level, African swine fever caused serious problems last year, as export capacity deteriorated, while the continent’s domestic consumption stagnated. The consequence of this is the oversupply, which has reduced the price of live pigs by almost half in a few months, and only in recent weeks has a rebalancing been seen, based on which sustainable market conditions may develop again within the foreseeable future.

– he explained.

Tamás Éder said: African swine fever is also a serious threat to the Hungarian meat industry, as it has spread from Croatia to the southern part of Baranya County, and from there, absent geographical obstacles, it could reach Lake Balaton in 3-4 years. If this happens, pork from at least two-thirds of the country will not be able to be sent to markets outside the EU, so a significant part of the farm developments of recent years may also lose their meaning, he stressed.

In his opinion, the fact that the surplus created due to European overproduction appears on the markets at low prices could also worsen domestic prospects. Profitability problems may worsen producers’ willingness to invest, and due to the risks, banks will also think twice about granting loans for development and modernization applications. If not, investments may be missed, and it is not ruled out that there will be more pig farmers who will abandon their activities – he noted.

He believed that if the resources of the common agricultural policy are properly utilized, the competitiveness of the Hungarian pig sector could improve within a few years, but this would require more than ever effective market protection measures. At the same time, consumers can also improve the situation of producers by buying reliable, high-quality meat products made domestically for Easter – said Tamás Éder.