In Euskadi, an annual volume of beef equivalent to 66,000 carcasses is consumed, of which 54%, just over 35,000 cattle, originates from Basque farms. Of every ten calves born in the Basque Country, three are certified with Eusko Label (11,305 carcasses in 2024), another three are slaughtered without a label (more than 10,000), and the remaining four (almost 14,000) are sent to other communities for fattening or slaughter.
Only direct shipments to slaughterhouses outside of Euskadi reached 8,703 heads in 2024, almost half destined for Navarra. Of the 35,562 animals slaughtered in Basque slaughterhouses that same year, more than 14,000 came from other regions, that is, nearly four out of ten. The result is a cross-flow: calves are exported, and at the same time, animals for slaughter are imported.
These data were presented this Wednesday by the Minister of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture, and Fisheries of the Basque Government, Amaia Barredo, during her speech in the Basque Parliament. There she emphasized that "the Eusko Label distinction is a tool that guarantees quality and origin, impacts the entire value chain, and is the meat brand with the highest requirements in the State to ensure its quality."
Barredo appeared before the Commission of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture, and Fisheries of the Basque Chamber to present an evaluation and analysis of the autonomous policy regarding beef and detail the functioning of the certification system.
As she emphasized, "Our quality seal for beef, Euskal Okela, generates value and protects the farmer. The Eusko Label distinction guarantees quality and origin and impacts the value chain."
The minister described the structure of the sector: "in Euskadi, we have 500 farms, 27 authorized feed factories, slaughterhouses, marketers, cutting rooms, and 200 butcher shops. Throughout its management, there are controls, inspections on the farm, analyses, and DNA tests that allow tracking each piece of the animal from which it comes. Last year we conducted 750 DNA analyses and it was not necessary to withdraw any certification."
In that line, she defended that "that is what the consumer buys when they see the 'K': not only quality but also food safety and the certainty of what the label states."
Barredo has explained that, "on that basis, the diagnosis made and the challenges from the department propose a future strategy, on two levels: the review of the Eusko Label brand for the future scenario and the Sectoral Plan for Beef Cattle; something we are already developing with the sector."
He has insisted that "Certified meats must be, above all, a value tool for the livestock person. That is our primary objective: that a larger part of the price reaches the farm and that their costs decrease as much as possible. To achieve this we need to sell more, because that will impact the increase of the productive base: more calves to be fattened and slaughtered here."
In his opinion, to increase production it is essential to expand the market, with specific promotional campaigns for beef, the promotion of Basque Label Harategia, support for restoration, public procurement, and the opening of commercial channels outside the Autonomous Community, in order to add more livestock farmers and more points of sale.
In his view, the Basque quality system must align with new consumption and purchasing habits, simplifying and making the model more agile without lowering the level of control. "All this needs strong governance: a Professional Committee in which the entire chain feels represented, under the prism of collective work and the common objective and a public indicator sheet each year," he pointed out.
After recalling that Eusko Label has been a reference for native meat for three decades and that the intention is to extend that trajectory for another thirty years alongside the sector, establishments, and loyal clientele, Barredo has emphasized that this is the central purpose of the new sectoral plan.
Eusko Label is a quality brand that distinguishes agricultural and livestock foods produced, processed, or prepared in Euskadi, offering guarantees of quality, authenticity, and origin through external controls and certifications.
The Regulatory Council of Eusko Label and the brand itself were established in 1989 and the first certified products reached the market in 1992. Currently, Eusko Label groups 18 product families, with more than 2,500 operators and more than 3,500 annual audits and analyses.
The counselor has highlighted that "three out of four Basque consumers mention it spontaneously, without anyone suggesting it, when asked how they recognize a product from here, equaling in notoriety to major international brands of the most well-known products in the market." "Few public or private brands can say that," she emphasized.
Regarding Euskal Okela, she recalled that it was launched in 1994 and that, when the mad cow crisis broke out two years later, the sector "was able to support and defend itself better due to the trust that consumers placed in Eusko Label as a public guarantee of origin and control." In 2004, the European Union recognized it as a Protected Geographical Indication.
In 2016, Euskadi promoted a new model of butcher shops with more services and better adapted to customer demands. In 2021, it adjusted to new requirements and, at this moment, the sectoral plan that will define the necessary tools to incorporate new adaptations is being finalized.
Barredo also reviewed the evolution of consumption: "between 2015 and 2025, beef consumption in households decreased by 34% in the Spanish state (from 5.69 to 3.77 kg per person per year) and by 36% in Euskadi (from 8.82 to 5.62 kg). The drop in volume did not translate into a collapse in spending: expenditure per person fell only 4.1% in Euskadi (from 89.78 to 86.08 current euros) and rose 2.6% in the whole of the State. The result is that the average spending per kilo purchased has increased significantly.
As she indicated, Euskadi continues to consume 49% more beef per person at home than the state average and spends 60% more, which keeps the community as the largest domestic consumer of beef in the State. As a general conclusion, less meat is eaten, especially beef, but the Basque public continues to be the one that consumes the most beef at home and spending per person has remained stable over the last decade.
As she specified, "declines in meat consumption, largely of beef, closures of establishments and specifically of neighborhood butcher shops, the need for larger size to compete, are the main causes of the decrease in certification."
He added that "Others related to this decline may be aligned with the chosen certification system that limits points of sale, due to the self-demand we have set and that are related to the label and how we are addressing this situation."
He also pointed out that "the beef cattle herd of Euskadi has been maintained. Since 2020 it has decreased by 9%, and in a decade, barely 6%. What has fallen sharply are the animals that are fattened and slaughtered here."
The carcasses slaughtered in Basque slaughterhouses have been reduced by 26% since 2020 and, in the case of those certified with Eusko Label, the decline has been 27%, practically in the same proportion.
In the words of the councilor, "The first challenge is to try to increase fattening in Euskadi, supporting the complete cycle. There is already a first sign of change: in 2025 the cows in farms with the label grew for the first time since 2020. It is a small figure, 0.6%, and I don't want to exaggerate it. But it is going in the right direction and we are working to consolidate it."