Spain’s animal feed market braces for reduced feed demand following ASF outbreak

Participants in Spain's animal feed market anticipate a contraction in feed demand for 2026 after the confirmation of African swine flu cases in the country -- the first since 1994, market participants told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.

"ASF is potentially shaving 2026 feed demand," a feed mill buyer said Dec. 1, adding, "If export demand for pork meat vanishes, demand for feed will shrink," he added.

"Let's see what happens, but it may lead to less consumption," a Barcelona-based broker said.

The situation may also reduce margins in the pork meat sector, as integrated players have secured significant amounts of their feed raw materials in advance.

"Integrators had quite the coverage; I think purchasing will halt now as margins and demand are reassessed," the buyer said.

"We had swine fever in Catalonia -- there are no conclusions yet, but this is bad news. Normally, pork prices decrease quickly; we will see next week. The key will be knowing whether we can export to countries outside of the EU," a second feed mill buyer said.

While the market awaits further news, there is hope for limited disruption.

"Everybody is monitoring ASF and crossing their fingers for minimal impact on the feed sector," said Jordi Forés Piquer, director of the quality and safety organization QualimaC. "All farms and feed factories have increased biosecurity measures to prevent the virus's spread among production animals," he added.

Since the announcement of two confirmed cases by the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food (MAPA) on Nov. 28, eight additional wild boars with suspected ASF cases have been found near Barcelona, local news agencies reported.

Changes in the prices of key feed ingredients -- such as corn and soybean meal -- have yet to materialize. Demand is already low, as feed mills are covered for the year, although ASF adds another bearish factor to the market.

"I'm buying nothing at the moment," the first buyer said.

Platts assessed corn ex-works Spain and soybean meal ex-works Spain at Eur215/mt and Eur338/mt, respectively, on Dec. 1.