Sector grows by a quarter
Rapid growth of the number of organic pigs in the Netherlands
The number of organic pig farms in the Netherlands is growing rapidly, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands. In 2017, 29 companies were added to 154 units, while in previous years there was hardly any increase. The number of organic pigs is also increasing.
In line with the growing number of organic pig farms, the number of organic pigs also rose sharply in 2017 (+24,1% to 91.340 pigs). In the previous 2 years, there was hardly any serious increase. The growth in those years was a maximum of a few percent.
The number of organic fattening pigs increased by more than 2017 in 10.000 to 47.400. The number of breeding sows grew by approximately 2.000 to 8.565, while the number of piglets increased by 5.000 to 35.375.
Better times
The increase is most likely a result of the economically better times in Dutch pig farming. Due to the improving pig and piglet prices, even record high yields realised. As a result, pig farmers logically have more investment opportunities.
Decline in mainstream businesses
Incidentally, the trend in the organic segment is at odds with the number of companies in conventional pig farming, where there has been a steady decline for years. In 2017, the number of companies decreased by 4,5% to 4.310 units. As a result, the number of pig farms decreased faster than the total number of farms in the Netherlands (-1,5% to 54.840).
Wouter Job
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