December 3, 2024

Portugal's pig slaughter rose by 2.6% year-on-year in first nine months of this year

Portugal's pig slaughter was up 2.6% (+127,914 head) in the first nine months of 2024 compared to 2023, rising from 2,854,943 pigs slaughtered between January and September 2023 to 2,928,857 in 2024.

Total weight slaughtered has increased by 5.6%, from 238,356.2 tonnes in 2023 to 251,735.0 tonnes this year. This gives an average carcass weight of 86.0 kilogrammes in 2024 compared to 84.1 kilogrammes in 2023.

There was also a 5.8% drop in the slaughter of piglets (-55,734 head) in the first nine months of 2024 (902,104 head) compared to the same period in 2023 (958,838 head). The slaughter weight fell by 5.5% from 6,781 tonnes in 2023 to 6,407.2 tonnes in 2024. The average weight remained the same at 7.1 kilogrammes per carcass.

As for cull breeding stock, 25,365 head (-2.6%) were slaughtered in 2024 compared to 26,040 head in 2023. The total weight fell by 1.1% from 3,793 tonnes in 2023 to 3752.4 tonnes in 2024. The average slaughter weight was 148 kilogrammes.

In total, 3,856,326 head were slaughtered and approved for consumption in Portugal in the first nine months of 2024, 0.5% more than in 2023 (3,838,821 head). The total slaughter weight was 261,894.6 tonnes, 5.2% more than in 2023 (248,930 tonnes).

- SIMA Bulletin