Over the last few decades, the Chilean pork industry has undergone a profound transformation in which sustainability has evolved from a complement to a strategic pillar of production. Continuous improvements in genetics, the gradual incorporation of technology, stronger health standards, and increasingly efficient resource management have enabled more competitive and environmentally responsible production.
This analysis is part of the report “Sustainability in the Chilean pork sector: 25 years,” which examines the sector’s evolution and how advances in production efficiency and technology adoption have significantly improved its environmental performance and long-term competitiveness.
The first wave of improvements focused on production efficiency. By adopting improved genetic lines, the sector made significant gains in key indicators, including feed conversion, sow productivity, and piglet mortality. These advances translate into higher pork production with fewer inputs per unit produced.
Claudia Pabón, a professor at the School of Economics and Administration and the Institute for Sustainable Development of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, helped prepare the report. She emphasizes that production efficiency and environmental performance have evolved in tandem over the past 25 years. “Sustained improvements in genetics, nutrition, and process control have made it possible to grow production with fewer inputs per product unit, significantly reducing the intensity of water, energy, and nutrient use, as well as the emissions per kilo of meat produced,” Pabón explains.
Pabón believes this process is reinforced by the gradual adoption of environmental technologies, particularly in slurry management, emissions control, water efficiency, and energy recovery, in response to changes in both environmental regulations and international market demands. “The result is a significant reduction in environmental impacts per production unit, despite the sector’s growth,” she notes.
A concrete example of this is improvement in the feed conversion ratio. Between 1972 and 2024, the amount of feed required to produce one kilogram of meat fell by 38%, from almost four kilograms to just over two. This higher efficiency is estimated to yield annual savings of 41,000 hectares of corn, with direct benefits for water and energy use and agricultural emissions.
Intensified production with a sustainable approach
Similar to countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United States, Chile’s production has become more intensive, with fewer farms and greater productivity per unit. This concentration and modernization are aimed at improving efficiency and achieving economies of scale, thereby reducing costs and improving quality.
The Chilean experience supports this process through significant investments in technologies that meet increasingly demanding regulatory frameworks and environmental standards. This approach has led to more integrated nutrient management systems and a virtuous sustainability loop that strengthens the sector’s competitiveness.
Looking ahead, Pabón warns that the margins for improvement in production efficiency are narrowing, while demands related to climate variability, territorial pressures, and a comprehensive evaluation of the sector’s environmental and social performance are increasing. In this scenario, she notes: “Future sustainability cannot rely solely on the technical efficiency of the intensive model.”
She argues that circularity, regeneration, and improved territorial integration offer strategic opportunities to move toward more diversified, resilient production systems that are less dependent on external inputs. The integration of new value chains, advanced by-product recovery, and the productive use of nutrient and energy flows appear to be key elements for the industry’s long-term stability.
Efficiency and sustainability: a direct relationship
The increase in production efficiency has gone hand in hand with a gradual transition toward circular economy models, driven by significant investments in technologies for treating and recovering slurry to reuse nutrients and energy.
The industry has significantly increased slurry treatment, going from less than 40% in the late 90s to more than 95% today. 82% of those are advanced treatment systems – such as biodigesters, activated sludge plants, composters, and vermifilters – that transform slurry into valuable byproducts such as fertilizers, soil amendments, and bioenergy.
This technological development has delivered concrete, measurable environmental benefits. In recent decades, the sector has significantly reduced emissions intensity. Technologies such as activated sludge and vermifilters promote biological nitrification and denitrification, reducing nitrogen emissions by 75%.
The reduction in emissions has been accompanied by a 69% drop in freshwater use at the farm level, thanks to technologies that enable the recirculation of treated production process water for pen cleaning.
Technological development has reduced carbon emissions per kilogram of meat produced by 39%. This metric fell from 2.92 kg of CO₂-eq per kilogram of meat produced in the early 2000s to less than 1.78 kg today, demonstrating the positive impact of technological improvements and environmental management.
Additionally, the use of biodigesters has enabled biogas to replace fossil fuels in various processes, reduce the sector’s carbon footprint, and strengthen its resilience to energy challenges.
Looking ahead, the Chilean pork sector faces the challenge of further deepening these advances and building its capacity to adapt to a new international context that demands a deeper, more systemic, and more resilient transformation. In this scenario, production efficiency, genetic innovation, the circular economy, and renewable energy will remain fundamental pillars for the sector’s long-term sustainability and viability.
