EU pig meat production falls on the back of low slaughter

Estimated EU pig meat production for June and July sits at 1.78 million tonnes and 1.66 million tonnes respectively. For June this is a year-on-year decline of 5.7% and for July a decline of 8.4%. This brings the estimated year to date (Jan- Jul) production for the EU27 to 12.95 million tonnes, the lowest volume since 2017.

For the six key producing nations, year to date figures show only Spain with year-on-year growth, albeit a marginal 0.2%.  Germany saw the largest change year on year, declining 10.1% in 2022. Poland and Denmark also saw significant decline, down 9.2% and 4.0% respectively. France and the Netherlands were each down around 1.5%.

Lower production has been driven by a lower kill. Estimated slaughter numbers for June and July stand at 19.23 million head and 18.13 million head, a year-on-year drop of 5.2% and 7.8% respectively. It is likely that some of this decline may be due to the heatwaves experienced across Europe and the northern hemisphere during these two months. This brings estimated year to date (Jan – Jul) pig slaughter for the EU27 to 137.91 million head, the lowest kill recorded in the last 5 years.

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