In Denmark, the number of slaughter pigs rose by 11% in the second quarter of 2020. And in Germany, the number of slaughtered finishers grew significantly in one state, while the other state recorded a sharp decline.
The East German state of Sachsen-Anhalt recorded a growth of no less than 12,9%, while the German state with the most inhabitants, North Rhine-Westphalia, recorded a contraction of almost 10%. The largest state in pork production, Niedersachsen, recorded a growth of 2%. On balance, however, the number of pig slaughters in Germany fell slightly by 0,6% in the first half.
Slaughterhouse vicissitudes
Undoubtedly, the corona restrictions and closures of slaughterhouses in Germany and Denmark are the cause of the different figures about the pig population. The pig supply has shifted from slaughterhouses with corona problems to slaughterhouses that have remained free of corona-infected employees.
The effect of the corona crisis was also noticeable in the Dutch slaughterhouses in July. This translated into many more heavily slaughtered pigs.
In Denmark, the number of slaughterings increased on balance by 2,2% compared to a year earlier. But in 2019, the contraction would have been very significant. Last year, the number of pig slaughters in Denmark decreased by 7,3% compared to 2018. According to the Danish semi-government organization Landbrug og Fødevarer, the sharp increase in the number of slaughter pigs present on the farms in the second quarter of 2020 is the result of the corona vicissitudes in the Danish slaughterhouses in the second quarter of 2020.
More and more Danish piglet exports
The growth of Danish piglet exports continues unabated. In 2018, the number of piglets exported rose to 14 million, to grow to more than 2019 million in 14,5. But Danish piglet exports also grew in the first half of 2020, by 1,5%. In addition, the number of pregnant sows as of 1 July 2020 was more than 2% higher than a year earlier. All in all, Denmark had 1% more pigs on July 2020, 4,9 than on July 1, 2019.
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