Inside Pigs
Many German sow farmers throw in the towel
Germany has a lot fewer sow farmers this year than last year, about 400 entrepreneurs have thrown in the towel. The number of breeding sows has also fallen sharply, but the entire pig herd, on the other hand, remains fairly stable.
During the year, more and more German sow farmers stopped their business activities. According to the National Statistical Institute of Germany (Destatis), a total of around 400 companies have shut down operations. On 3 November, the most recent count, there were 6.800 sow farmers in Germany.
Compared to the same period last year, this is a decrease of 5,6%. The number of sow farmers has fallen sharply in recent years. A decade ago, the number of farms with sows was still 15.600, more than twice the current number.
Also fewer breeding sows
The number of breeding sows has also decreased considerably compared to last year. The current herd of sows numbers about 1,69 million heads, a decrease of 5,4%. The German interest organization for pig farmers (ISN) attributes the sharp decline in the number of sows in part to a stock reduction. The slaughter figures of breeding sows have been about 20% higher since September than last year.
No decrease in the pig population
On the other hand, the decline in the entire pig population, which has been going on for a number of years, will not continue immediately. According to Destatis, there were 25,99 million pigs in Germany at the beginning of November, which means that the number is only 0,2% lower than last year. This has everything to do with the corona crisis and the restrictions that this has entailed.
Due to limited slaughter and cutting capacity, fewer pigs could be slaughtered and the number of finishers increased by 1,7% to 11,92 million heads. In particular, the number of heavier pigs, over 110 kilos, is considerably higher than last year. This year there are no fewer than 380.300 more heavier pigs than last year, which is an increase of almost 30%. There are more fattening pigs in Lower Saxony in particular than last year, due to operational disruptions at Tönnies due to corona in Sögel, Vion and Emstek.
Chanti Oussoren
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