News Pigs
Cracks in Danish pig population growth trend
Although pig prices have been under pressure for a long time, Danish pig farmers kept increasing the animal numbers. This trend seems to have stopped now.
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Figures from the Danish Statistical Office show that the total number of pigs was 1% smaller than a year earlier. Denmark had fewer sows, piglets and fattening pigs in October 2021 than a year earlier. It therefore appears that the difficult situation on the European piglet and fattening pig market is starting to have an impact on pig numbers in the country.
Fewer sows, mainly a decline in the number of mated gilts
Contractions were recorded in all major rich pig categories. The total number of sows fell by 2% from 1.283.000 to 1.263.000, a decrease of 20.000 animals. Within this group, the number of gilts mated in particular decreased, an indication for the future development of the sow herd. The number decreased by 16.000 pieces from 232.000 pieces to 216.000 pieces, a decrease of 7%.
The number of piglets and young fattening pigs fell by 1% to 8,82 million. The number of fattening pigs heavier than 50 kilos decreased by 2% to 3,13 million animals.
Danes face very weak piglet demand
Danish pig farmers have traditionally relied heavily on exporting piglets to Germany, among others en Poland. In both these countries, in addition to poor price formation, pig farmers are faced with an uncertain and deteriorating situation surrounding African swine fever. This does not benefit the demand for Danish piglets. The Danish piglet price fell significantly this autumn and was even far below last year's dip.