Inside Pigs
Meat pigs are delivered heavy
The noises on the pig market indicate that slaughterhouses are slaughtering 'full bowl' pigs these weeks. This is also reflected in the slaughter figures, which are once again high. The average slaughter weight is also high and is increasing steadily.
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In the run-up to Christmas, many pigs are usually slaughtered and that is also the case this year. Over the past week, the slaughter figure in the Netherlands recorded 320.000 slaughters. This means the figure is 1,5% below the 2017 level, but 4% above the 5-year average.
High average slaughter weight
The average slaughter weight increases by 10 grams to 97,20 kilos, which is high for this time of year. For example, the slaughter weight is 0,6 kilo higher than in the same week in 2017 and 1,85 kilo above the 5-year average. In the same week 10 years ago, the average weight was still just over 90 kilos.
The fact that the slaughter weight has increased in recent years is mainly a result of the changes in the payment table. Various concepts encourage pig farmers to deliver heavier pigs.
Fewer massacres in Germany
In Germany, the slaughter figure has been barely above the 1 million mark for weeks. For week 48, the slaughter figure is 1.006.587 pigs, 3,9% less than in the same week last year and 2,9% less than the 5-year average. To date, 44.516.013 pigs have been slaughtered in Germany, 2,3% less than in the same period in 2017. The declining figures are partly a result of the shrinking pig herd and lower supply of live pigs from abroad.
To date, 839.703 breeding sows have been slaughtered, more than 7% more than in 2017. Many breeding sows were slaughtered, especially in the third quarter. In the meantime, the number of breeding sows slaughtered is back in line with last year. In week 48, 17.301 breeding sows were slaughtered, a decrease of 0,8% compared to the same week in 2017.