The years of decline in the German pig population has been halted for the time being. For the first time in ten years, our eastern neighbours have more sows again. In addition, the slaughter figures also confirm that the years of decline have stopped. An increase is also visible in other large pig countries in Europe such as Spain, Poland and Denmark. In the Netherlands, the decline continues unabated, as does in France.
Recent figures from the Eurostat statistics service show that the pig population is growing in many price-determining countries. The most striking development is the increase in the sow population in Germany. The June count shows that the number of sows is increasing for the first time since 2014. With 1,413 million breeding sows, an increase of just under 1,5% is visible. This can be seen as a clear trend break, because a decline was still visible at the penultimate count in December. However, the decline in 2023 was already less than in previous years. All in all, a large part of the German pig population has disappeared from the market, because a decade ago there were still more than 2 million sows.
More massacres in Germany
In those years, more than a million pigs were easily slaughtered on a weekly basis. These numbers have not been achieved by a long shot in recent years. However, the slaughter figures have also temporarily left the downward trend behind. Up to now, the slaughter figure (up to week 39) is almost the same as the same period last year. However, the slaughter figure in recent weeks has clearly been above last year's level. With 763.346 pigs, the slaughter figure in the last full week of September was almost 3% above last year's level. These numbers are reasonably consistent with insiders' expectations that the German slaughter figure would stabilise at around 750.000 pigs per week. According to the recent Eurostat count, not only the sow herd, but the total number of pigs in Germany has grown to over 21 million.
Growth in Spain, Denmark and Poland
The number of breeding sows has also increased in other large European pig countries. With 2,77 million sows, Spain has recorded a growth of 1,7%. The downward trend has also stopped in Denmark, now that the sow herd has also grown by 1,7% to 1,11 million sows. Poland reports a strong growth of no less than 15% to 682.000 breeding sows. It should be taken into account that there has been a strong decline in recent years due to African swine fever.
Shrinkage in the Netherlands and France
In the Netherlands, exactly 30.000 sow places disappeared in one year. This amounts to a decrease of 3,4% to 853.000 breeding sows. The decrease is expected to continue in the coming years as a result of the stopper regulations (Lbv and Lbv-plus). The impact of this will become increasingly clear in the coming months, but is probably not negligible. Finally, of the large pig countries in Europe, France also reports a further decrease in the sow population that has been going on since 2013. The number of French breeding sows has shrunk by 3,41% to 848.000.
| Country | Number of sows (x1.000) | Mutation |
| Spain | 2.771 | 1,7% |
| Germany | 1.413 | 1,5% |
| Denmark | 1.142 | 1,7% |
| The Netherlands | 853 | -3,4 |
| France | 848 | -3,4 |
| Poland | 682 | 15% |