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Paraguayan Pork Producers Fear Contraband Saturation Will Ruin Prices
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Economy & Trade

Paraguayan Pork Producers Fear Contraband Saturation Will Ruin Prices

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Paraguayan pork producers are concerned about plummeting prices and market saturation, which they attribute to widespread contraband.
  • The Paraguayan Association of Pork Producers (APPC) has called for intervention from consumer protection authorities.
  • Producers report that while Paraguay exports premium pork internationally, domestic prices have fallen significantly since February 2026 due to an oversupply.

Pork producers in Paraguay are sounding the alarm over a drastic drop in domestic prices, a situation they attribute to a surge in contraband meat flooding the market. Robert Bento, vice president of the Paraguayan Association of Pork Producers (APPC), expressed the widespread concern among farmers, stating that the price decline has been ongoing since February 2026.

We want the chain to be competitive and transparent, so that the producer can receive a sustainable price and the consumer can buy at an accessible and quality price.

— APPC statementThe statement outlines the producers' desire for a fair market.

Producers have investigated the issue, noting a discrepancy between Paraguay's increased pork exports of premium quality meat to demanding international markets and the saturated domestic market. This oversupply, they argue, does not align with livestock numbers managed by Senacsa, the national animal health authority.

At this point, it's already a bit of a loss that our fellow producers are suffering. We were conducting a series of investigations to see where this deficiency or fragility came from.

— Roberto BentoBento explains the financial impact on producers and their efforts to understand the cause.

The APPC, along with the farm Bonanza Agroganadera, has formally requested Senacsa to address the "unfair competition" caused by contraband. They are also seeking intervention from the Secretariat of Defense of Consumers and Users (Sedeco) to ensure a competitive and transparent supply chain. Producers aim for a sustainable price for farmers and an accessible, quality price for consumers.

We feel proud that our meat is premium internationally in very demanding markets, but on the other hand, at the local or internal level, we see that we are saturated with meat and that does not coincide with the livestock numbers managed by Senacsa.

— Roberto BentoBento contrasts Paraguay's export success with the domestic market saturation.

Producers highlighted that multiple state entities, including Senacsa for traceability, INTN for quality control, and DNIT for tax and import/export tracking, should be involved in resolving the issue. They emphasize the need for these bodies to take action to stabilize the market and protect local producers from the detrimental effects of illicit trade.

Through this study, we detected unfair competition, and the detonating element was the massive contraband that our market is experiencing.

— Roberto BentoBento identifies contraband as the primary driver of unfair competition.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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