News Pigs
Germany has more piglets and hardly any stoppers
The number of pigs in Germany has increased, according to data from the statistical service Destatis published at the end of 2025. The number of piglets and young pigs for meat production, in particular, has seen a rapid increase. It is also striking that the number of farms has barely decreased.
Read this article?
Become a subscriber and get instant access
Choose the subscription that suits you
At the beginning of November, Germany had a net total of 21,5 million pigs kept on 15.220 farms. This represents a 2,8% increase compared to the May count and a 0,9% increase compared to last year.
It's striking that the number of pig farms has barely decreased since May. Since May, 30 farms have closed, compared to 430 in the same period last year. In 10 years, 40,8% have closed, representing 10.500 farms. The number of pigs declined by 22,3% during the same period, or 6,2 million animals.
More piglets and young meat pigs
A closer look at the current situation reveals that Germany has a particularly high number of piglets and finishers under 50 kg. In one year, this has increased by a remarkable 8,1% to 10,9 million. The number of breeding sows has also grown by 1,4% to 1,4 million. This means a more plentiful pig supply is expected in 2026. However, the number of finishers was lower at the end of November than a year ago, with a decrease of 6,4%.
Nevertheless, slaughter figures at the end of 2025 were above the 2024 level. The slaughter figure in Germany reached 795.157, the highest number since the end of 2022. This is partly due to additional piglets for slaughter now that Spain is receiving fewer (Dutch) piglets due to the outbreak of African swine fever.