The United Kingdom has moved with unusual speed to erect an emergency sanitary barrier against Spain, its fifth–largest EU food-trade partner, after Catalan authorities confirmed the country’s first African swine fever (ASF) case in more than three decades.
From the early hours of 29 November, fresh pork, offal and other susceptible pig products originating anywhere in Spain are being stopped and kept under seal at British Border Control Posts (BCPs). The measure, announced jointly by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and HM Revenue & Customs, is open-ended: only once Spain regains ASF-free status or the UK completes a risk reassessment will the consignments be released for free circulation.
![UK Border Force Begins Holding Spanish Pork Imports After African Swine Fever Outbreak]()
Although ASF does not infect humans, it is highly contagious among domesticated pigs and wild boar, with mortality rates approaching 100 %. Britain’s pig-industry lobby, the National Pig Association, welcomed the safeguard, recalling the multi-billion-euro export losses suffered by Germany when it reported its first ASF cases in 2020. Spain, the EU’s top pork exporter, shipped 37,600 t of pork to the UK in 2025—worth more than €112 m—and is now scrambling to reassure foreign customers that the outbreak is confined to a limited wildlife corridor in the Montseny massif north of Barcelona.
For Spanish agrifood exporters, the halt could not come at a worse time: Christmas orders are being finalised, refrigerated trucks are already queuing at Calais and Portsmouth, and alternative Asian markets continue to impose punitive tariffs. Logistics providers warn that every additional day of storage at BCPs eats into already-thin margins and creates cascading delays across the EU-UK supply chain.
Corporate mobility teams should alert staff entering the UK with samples or catering supplies that undeclared pork products will be confiscated and may trigger penalties. Firms that rely on time-sensitive Iberian meat ingredients—airline caterers, cruise-ship chandlers, gourmet retailers—should explore dual-sourcing or reformulating menus until the restriction is lifted.
From the early hours of 29 November, fresh pork, offal and other susceptible pig products originating anywhere in Spain are being stopped and kept under seal at British Border Control Posts (BCPs). The measure, announced jointly by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and HM Revenue & Customs, is open-ended: only once Spain regains ASF-free status or the UK completes a risk reassessment will the consignments be released for free circulation.
Although ASF does not infect humans, it is highly contagious among domesticated pigs and wild boar, with mortality rates approaching 100 %. Britain’s pig-industry lobby, the National Pig Association, welcomed the safeguard, recalling the multi-billion-euro export losses suffered by Germany when it reported its first ASF cases in 2020. Spain, the EU’s top pork exporter, shipped 37,600 t of pork to the UK in 2025—worth more than €112 m—and is now scrambling to reassure foreign customers that the outbreak is confined to a limited wildlife corridor in the Montseny massif north of Barcelona.
For Spanish agrifood exporters, the halt could not come at a worse time: Christmas orders are being finalised, refrigerated trucks are already queuing at Calais and Portsmouth, and alternative Asian markets continue to impose punitive tariffs. Logistics providers warn that every additional day of storage at BCPs eats into already-thin margins and creates cascading delays across the EU-UK supply chain.
Corporate mobility teams should alert staff entering the UK with samples or catering supplies that undeclared pork products will be confiscated and may trigger penalties. Firms that rely on time-sensitive Iberian meat ingredients—airline caterers, cruise-ship chandlers, gourmet retailers—should explore dual-sourcing or reformulating menus until the restriction is lifted.
