March 6, 2023

Lower number of cattle, pigs in Austria slaughtered last year

Austria's pig inventory, as of December 2022, was 2.65 million head.

According to the Austrian Statistical Office, about 1.86 million head of cattle (down 0.5% or -9,000 animals compared to 2021), 2.65 million head of pigs (-4.9% or -135,400 animals), 400,700 head of sheep (- 0.4%) and 99,000 head of goats (-1.6%) were raised in Austria.

Fewer cattle, pigs and horses were slaughtered in 2022, but more sheep and goats were slaughtered.

As for the swine inventory, compared to December 1, 2021, the number of pigs decreased in all categories. The number of piglets and young pigs decreased by 4.8% to 1.32 million head, finishing pigs by 4.5% to 1.12 million head and breeding sows by 7% to 212,000 head.

The provinces with the highest pig production were Upper Austria, Lower Austria, and Styria, whose inventory increased slightly to 94% of the total herd (93.7%, 2021).

In 2022, the number of pigs slaughtered in slaughterhouses and deemed fit for human consumption decreased by 4.3% to 4.88 million head.

- Austrian Statistics Office