Meat prices soar in Spain: butchers and consumers voice the same complaint

Meat prices soar in Spain: "We've never seen anything like this"

The complaint is unanimous in butcher shops across Spain. While the overall CPI holds at 3%, the cost of meat has broken every record. In market squares, butchers and customers agree: "Everything has gone up, we just have to put up with it," lamented an industry professional in late November 2025. But resignation is not the only reaction.

Behind the price surge lies a blurry map of culprits. Middlemen are singled out as key players: according to those who buy directly from the slaughterhouse, the price doubles and even triples between the animal leaving the farm and the shop counter. A consumer buying meat at the source pays exactly half of what a supermarket charges. Suspicion of speculation hangs over the distribution chain, with Spanish production being diverted to foreign markets where it fetches more.

But it's not just speculation. Regulatory pressure from Brussels has tightened the conditions for livestock farms. Environmental rules, health controls and reduced subsidies have driven up production costs. "They bring in legislation that makes it harder and harder to run a livestock farm," some analyses sum up. The result is a vicious circle: prices rise, demand falls, farms close.

Consumers are responding with survival strategies. Those who can, buy half a cow between several families and take it to the slaughterhouse. Others turn to hunting: wild boar is presented as a cheap and natural alternative. "Some monsters out there this year, it's teeming with them," people say from rural areas. In the cities, buying through cooperatives or directly from farmers is gaining ground.

At the same time, the debate over alternative proteins is resurfacing. The prices of approved insects – mealworms at €120/kilo, crickets at €200/kilo – demolish the argument that they could be an option for the masses. "The mass menu for the common people was invented long ago: cabbage, potatoes, ultra-refined flour," one observer quips.

The feeling that something doesn't add up is widespread. The official CPI does not reflect the reality of the meat basket, and the gap between macro data and household economics keeps widening. Meanwhile, supermarkets play with formats: Lidl already sells chicken breast in 900-gram packs instead of 1 kilo, a trick that fools no one. As some put it: "Meat is on its way to becoming a luxury item." And there is no sign of the trend reversing.