World famous Ibérico ham is being threatened by climate change as Spain suffers from drought

Drought in the Spanish region of Extremadura is putting the production of Ibérico ham at risk.

The world-famous dry-cured ham is made from blackfoot pigs which eat acorns in oak and cork tree groves.

But have caused acorn production to drop by 20 to 25 per cent. The pigs are taking longer to reach their ideal weight, delaying the production of the Ibérico ham.

“Obviously the production of grass and acorns has been much less this year” explains Rodrigo Cárdeno Sánchez, the owner of a farm in Badajoz, Extremadura.

“We are talking about an animal that should start October weighing 90 kilograms and end January at approximately 150 or 140 kilograms.”

The Interprofessional Association of the Iberian Pig (ASICI) says that this ‘montanera’, between 15 and 20 per cent fewer acorn-fed pigs will be slaughtered compared to the 2021-22 season.

“We have cut 15-20 per cent of what we had planned. Expenditure has reached the same level as income and it's a disaster.”

But both of these options reduce their profitability - something that has already been affected by an increase in production costs.

Experts say it won’t be easy for the industry to recover due to the long and expensive life cycle of the Iberian pig.