Danish pig herd continues to grow

Figures from the Danish Statistical Office (Statistics Denmark) show that the number of piglets in Denmark has grown by 6% to 2,59 million. The number of fattening pigs (under 50 kilos) has increased by 5% to 5,9 million, while the number of pigs over 50 kilos has increased by 3% (to 3 million). The sow herd has also grown (+2% to 1,26 million).

What is striking is that for the first time since October 2014, more fattening pigs have been counted. This does not detract from piglet exports, which increased by no less than 7% to 14,17 million piglets in the past year. Germany is the most important customer with 6,3 million. They are closely followed by the Polish pig sector, which imported 5,7 million Danish piglets. Sales to Poland have more than doubled since 2013. Other countries where the piglets go are: Italy, Romania and Hungary.

Fewer massacres
Although the number of fattening pigs in Denmark is on the rise again, this is not yet reflected in the slaughter figures for 2017, which show a decrease of 5% to 17,2 million. Of these, 13 million pieces (-5,3%) were on the hooks at slaughterhouse giant Danish Crown. Tican, which is part of it German Tonnies, processed approximately 3,4 million pigs (-4,4%). This means that both players have at least 95% of the market. The rest of the slaughter happens to a handful of other players.

The balance sheet for 2017 shows that Danish Crown, despite a guaranteed price which was well above the European standard, did not achieve more slaughter. The decline in slaughter was even slightly higher than the national average.For almost all of 2017, the number of slaughters lagged behind the year before.