The crisis began in late November 2025, when ASF was detected in wild boar near Barcelona, the first confirmed outbreak in Spain in more than three decades. Since then, additional cases have emerged in Catalonia, raising fears of wider spread and triggering an aggressive containment response involving police, military units and veterinary teams.

Although harmless to humans, ASF spreads rapidly among pigs and is often fatal, making it a major economic threat. Spain is the European Union’s largest pork producer and one of the world’s leading exporters, with billions of euros in annual trade at stake.

The detection of the disease has already had immediate global consequences. Dozens of countries have imposed restrictions or outright bans on Spanish pork imports due to strict biosecurity rules designed to prevent the virus from crossing borders. These measures have significantly disrupted trade flows, with reports indicating that a substantial portion of Spain’s export certificates have been suspended, effectively choking off access to key international markets. 

For producers, the impact has been severe. Export bans not only reduce revenue but also create oversupply in domestic markets, driving down prices and threatening jobs across the supply chain. The pork industry supports hundreds of thousands of livelihoods, meaning prolonged restrictions could have far-reaching economic consequences. 

Catalonia’s Agriculture Minister, Òscar Ordeig, has warned that human activity may have contributed to the outbreak, suggesting contaminated food, possibly discarded by travellers, could have infected wild boar. He has also overseen measures including culling wild animals and expanding quarantine zones to prevent the virus from reaching commercial farms. 

Despite these efforts, uncertainty remains. With no vaccine available for ASF, Spain’s pork industry is now racing against time to contain the outbreak, restore international confidence and safeguard a sector central to its agricultural economy.