October 6,  2020

Pig numbers in Germany on the decline

The number of pigs available for Germany's meat production sector has been on the decline for years.

As of May 3 this year, the country's total pig census was 25.5 million head. This represents a decrease of 3.9% or 1.0 million animals fewer than ten years ago. The number of farms also dropped significantly, decreasing by 39% in the same period to 20,400 farms. This increased the average pig population per farm from 795 to 1,248 pigs per farm.

In recent months, the number of fattening pigs has decreased. As of May 3, 2020, Germany had 11.1 million fattening pigs, which represents a decrease of 5.2% (-614,700 animals) compared to six months earlier.

- Destatis