Viabilidad de los distintos sistemas de producción en porcino ibérico

Abstract

Iberian pig products are a benchmark in the Spanish gastronomic and cultural landscape. However, the product's quality is influenced by numerous factors (genetic, production systems, feeding) that generate a high product's variability. These facts have generated a huge variety of trade names and commercial types that consumers have difficulty to identify and often do not value properly. As a consequence, producers sometimes do not recover through sales the extra-price that comes from raising Iberian mast-fed pigs or mast-fodder fed pigs instead of Iberian fodder-fed pigs. This paper analyzes, through a case study, the cost structure of different types of Iberian pig production systems, contrasting them with market prices and determining their viability. The results show that farms that produce Iberian mast-fed pigs are those that get more profit per animal produced, even considering their higher costs from land-use. However, they face problems arising from the unwillingness of consumers to pay the premium for these products versus the most affordable fodderfed, which can significantly restrict their viability.