Fewer and fewer pigs in German barns; more and more in England

The size of the German pig herd further decreased last year due to African Swine Fever, reaching the lowest level in the past 25 years. In Great Britain, pork production rose to a record high since 1999.

The latest figures from the German Federal Statistical Office show that the German pig population stood at 23.6 million head at the end of last year, a decline of 9% compared to the previous year. The number of sows amounted to 1.57 million, a decrease of 7%. 

The poor market conditions are mainly influenced by African Swine Fever among German wild boars, which severely limits Germany's export opportunities. The number of farms keeping pigs has fallen by 8% over the past two years—since the outbreak of ASF on German soil—to 18,800. The number of piglets decreased by 10% to 6.92 million. 

Pork production in the United Kingdom amounted to 1.02 million tons in 2021, the highest production level since 1999. Despite the problems the sector is facing, production increased by 4% in 2020, and 11.1 million clean pigs were slaughtered in 2021, 2% more than the previous year.

Moreover, the average carcass weight is significantly heavier at 90.9 kg, as many pigs were kept on farms longer than originally planned due to transport issues and capacity shortages in slaughterhouses. Processing capacity in some meat processing plants has been further reduced in recent days due to high absenteeism caused by the latest wave of the coronavirus.