The pig industry is being led to the slaughter of tens of thousands of healthy piglets, as a result of the strict restrictive measures imposed to deal with foot-and-mouth disease.
The Council of Ministers on Wednesday approved the special "Support Plan for the Pig Sector (piglets)", which provides financial compensation for the destruction of animals, in an effort to contain the collapse of prices and manage the huge market surpluses created due to the export ban.
The extension of the restriction zones throughout the territory of Cyprus until 1 August 2026, based on Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/582 of the European Commission, imposed a complete ban on the export of fresh meat and non-heat-treated products.
The inability to sell the products abroad led to a serious deregulation of the domestic market. The animals, if not sold, exceed the final weight of 120 kg, resulting in their degradation of quality and accumulating huge losses from the cost of fattening.
In the face of this impasse, a harsh but necessary measure was decided that provides that up to 33,000 healthy piglets will be born with the sole purpose of killing and destruction.
The procedure involves transporting the animals to a slaughterhouse, where they are marked with blue ink and then transporting them to biogas production plants. The killing is monitored on a monthly basis by the Department of Agriculture, so that the measure can be suspended if the relationship between supply and demand is balanced.
The Plan was prepared by the Department of Agriculture, received the approval of the Commissioner for State Aid Control and the positive opinion of the Ministry of Finance.
The maximum total amount that will be allocated by the Scheme is €1,650,000. More specifically, those pig farmers who apply to send piglets for destruction will be allocated a total amount that will not exceed €250,000. The aid per piglet destroyed is estimated at €50. It is clarified that eligible piglets whose live weight immediately before the destruction ranges from 7 – 20 kg.
The aim of the Plan is to provide financial assistance to pig farmers who choose to send piglets for destruction in order to reduce the population for more efficient management of their units, to limit the financial losses resulting from fattening costs and as a result to reduce possible surpluses of pork in the market.
Beneficiaries of the scheme are natural or legal persons who are owners or managers of pig farms with sows. The units must be registered in the register of Veterinary Services (based on P.A.I. 335/2002) and have taken part in the annual "Pig Farm Review 2025".
The Plan concerns exclusively micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the primary agricultural sector. Applications are submitted to the relevant District Agricultural Offices. The Department of Agriculture conducts an administrative audit of 100% of the applications to determine the eligibility of each application.
The number of piglets that each producer is entitled to include is determined on the basis of the official data of the 2025 Pig Survey and the 2025 slaughters.
The payment of the aid is made only after the presentation of the required destruction documents, which are confirmed by a competent veterinarian.
The right to lodge an objection is granted within 10 working days of the notification of the results.
The payment of compensation can be made until 31 December 2026.
