Spain produced more than 4 million tons of meat for the first time in the first half of the year.

Data provided by MAPA shows that in the first quarter of 2024 , Spanish slaughterhouses exceeded 4 million tons of MEAT production, reaching 4.03 million tons, driven mainly by growth in pork and poultry production.

The growth recorded compared to 2024 represents a 5.7% increase in total meat production and accelerates the growth recorded between 2023 and 2024 (+1.4%) and the decline recorded between 2022 and 2023 (-3.2%).

A category analysis shows that   pork  is the largest driver of growth, accounting for 2.68 million tonnes, 66.7% of the total volume and a 7.3% increase compared to 2024. About 28.02 million animals were slaughtered.

Catalonia leads the ranking of Spanish producing regions with almost 1.05 million tonnes, an increase of 3.1%. The largest increase was observed in Aragon, up 14.1% to 585,251 tonnes, while production in Castile and León remained stable, increasing by just 0.4% to 309,464 tonnes. Of note is a 21% increase in the Murcia region, where production exceeded 213,000 tonnes. The greatest growth in the first half of the year was observed in Extremadura, where production increased by 28% to 48,667 tonnes, thanks to the pace of Iberian cattle slaughter.

Pork is followed in importance by poultry, whose production increased by 5.8% to 927,852 tonnes.

The growth observed over the past five years is noteworthy: from 800 thousand tons of poultry meat production in 2021 to the current level, which is primarily due to the growth of domestic consumption, as this meat has a lower price.

Beef is the next largest meat product    , with production down 3.7% to 345,437 tons in the first half of the year.

From a regional perspective, it should be noted that the quantity of meat shipped from slaughterhouses decreased in all regions of Spain except Catalonia, by 72,715 tons (+ 4.2%), while in Castile and León it decreased by 1.7% (58,243 tons) and in Galicia by 8.5% (44,212 tons).

Even in the Valencian Community, one of the most dynamic in recent years, production fell by 5.5% to 43,186 tonnes.

 As for lamb, we are facing a continued decline in meat production: -18.6% over the last five years, from 60,180 tonnes in 2021 to 48,954 tonnes last year. Although the decline recorded between 2024 and 2025 is less than in previous years (-3% in 2025 compared to 2024, compared to a decrease of 10.7% in 2024 compared to 2023), production in the first half of the year is already less than 50,000 tonnes, and in months such as June, a drop of 16.4% compared to June 2024 was even recorded, just at the start of the summer barbecues. Castile and León leads in production with 12,144 tonnes, but compared to last year, the figure is down 14.2%. It is followed by Catalonia with 6,535 tonnes, which remains stable throughout 2024, and Aragon, which increased by 3.2%.

Production of other meats is declining slightly: goat meat is down 16.6% compared to 2024 levels, remaining at 3,614 tons; horse meat is down 4% at approximately 3,813 tons; and rabbit meat has already seen a 31.5% decline over the past five years. While production in the first quarter of 2021 was 24,097 tons, it is expected to reach 16,483 tons in 2025.