Inside Pigs
German pig slaughter figures higher than last year
German pig slaughter figures have shown an increase for the first time in years, according to preliminary figures from the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
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A slight growth in slaughter figures was achieved in the first quarter of 2020 compared to last year. A total of 14,01 million pigs were slaughtered, an increase of 0,4%. Due to higher slaughter weights, pork production increased slightly faster, by 1% to 1,34 million tons.
The increase is the first increase in years. In the first three months of 2019, a decrease was visible compared to the previous year. 1,73 million fewer animals were slaughtered than in 2018. Compared to 2017, 2018 million fewer animals were slaughtered in 1,51.
More domestic meat
According to the figures, the increase comes from a larger number of domestically slaughtered pigs. Compared to the first three months of 2019, the number of slaughtered animals in 2020 increased by 1,2% to 13,14 million. The number of pigs slaughtered abroad, on the other hand, has actually decreased considerably. This amount stagnated at 11%.
Trend will not continue
The upward trend will not continue in the second quarter of 2020. The slaughter number is expected to be significantly lower than last year due to the corona crisis and the closed slaughterhouses. In Germany, there are several large slaughterhouses that are temporarily closed due to corona infections among staff.