September 9, 2015

 

Slaughtered pigs across EU increased 4% in H1

 

 

Slaughtered pigs across the European Union increased during the first half of the year by nearly 5 million head, or 4%, compared with the same period in 2014, AHDB Pork said, citing latest figures from Eurostat.

 

The increase supported the European Commission's short-term outlook report last July stating that pig meat was leading Europe's meat production this year.

 

All major pig-producing members of the 28-nation EU, led by Spain where 8% more pigs were slaughtered, also recorded increased throughputs. A similar rate of increase was also noted in the Netherlands because of lower exports of slaughter pigs to Germany which, despite this, had its throughputs up 2%.

 

Both France and Denmark killed 1% more pigs, said AHDB Pork, a division of the UK's Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.

 

With carcass weights also slightly heavier, total pig meat production in the six months was up 5% at 11.4 million tonnes.

 

In June alone, slaughtering across the EU was up 7% at 20.7 million head from the same month last year. Registering a 10% increase, Spain, according to AHDB Pork, remained a key contributor to the total. France and Poland, among others, also recorded double-digit percentage increases.

 

Among the major producers, only Denmark showed lower throughputs in June.

 

Pig meat production in the EU in June was also higher by 9% higher than last year at 1.9 million tonnes.

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