With half of the national farms affected and estimated losses of “many millions”, pig farmers are urgently requesting help to avoid a social problem.

“The pig farming sector is normally known for being resilient, but this is the biggest crisis of all time. It has affected 50% of national production, divided between the Lisbon and Tagus Valley, Alentejo and Central regions,” – the latter being the most affected – said the president of the Portuguese Federation of Pig Farmers Associations (FPAS), David Neves, in statements to Lusa.

Although it is not yet possible to quantify the losses caused by the bad weather in the sector, due to ongoing failures in energy and communications supply, the federation estimates losses of “many millions of euros”.

In the Leiria region alone, more than 50 pig farms still operate with generators, which, according to FPAS, could pose a social problem, given that many are family-run and the daily cost of using this equipment is around €600.

The federation of pig farmers' associations has received 246 reports of incidents on properties that have affected 1.5 million animals.

Will there be a meat shortage?

David Neves dismissed the possibility of a pork shortage in Portugal, one of the countries with the highest pork consumption, since the European market is in surplus.

However, he warned that Portugal's degree of self-sufficiency was already around 60% and that national production would decline, leading to greater dependence on the external market and economic consequences.

The president of FPAS said it was premature to say what the impact of this reduction would be, insisting that, despite it seeming like we are returning to normal, that is not what is seen throughout the territory.

Difficulty in communications

“Contacts and communications are very difficult. The internet does not exist everywhere. People have to travel almost to the urban area to have communications,” he insisted.

David Neves also guaranteed that any change in pork prices in the national market will not be linked to the weather.

Government measures

Regarding the measures put forward by the Government, although acknowledging that “they are well structured”, the federation argued that they are “manifestly insufficient” and called for urgency in the disbursement of funds to producers.

“Today, nobody has access to anything. The money has not yet reached the people. The properties are making a very large financial effort to be able to minimise the impacts,” he concluded.