September 7, 2020

Germany's meat production drops 0.6% in first half of 2020

28.9 million pigs, cattle, sheep, goats and horses were slaughtered in commercial slaughterhouses in Germany during the first six months of 2020.

Including poultry, close to 3.9 million tonnes of meat were produced. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), meat production has dropped by around 0.6% or 22,100 tonnes compared to the first half of 2019. This was attributed to the decline in meat production in the second quarter of 2020, which was marked by COVID-19. While production in the first quarter increased by 1.4 % (+27,600 tonnes) compared to the previous year, it fell by 2.6 % (-49,700 tonnes) in the second quarter.

The volume of pig meat produced from commercial slaughtering in the first half of 2020 was 2.6 million tonnes, 1.0% lower than for the same period of the previous year (-26,200 tonnes).

In the first quarter, the slaughter volume still rose by 1.2% (+15,900 tonnes) compared to the previous year, while in the second quarter, it fell by 3.3% (-42,100 tonnes).

- Destatis