Germany: Number of pig farms continues to decline

The number of pigs raised in Germany as of 3 November 2024 was 21.2 million. This means that the pig population has remained virtually unchanged compared to the reference date of 3 May 2024 (+10,100 pigs) and compared to the same period last year (-0.2% or -39,400 pigs). However, compared to 2014, the population has decreased by 25.2% or 7.2 million pigs. In addition, the trend towards larger farms continues: while in 2014 there were on average 1,100 pigs per farm, ten years later this figure has increased to 1,400 pigs per farm.

By category, there were 9.7 million fattening pigs in Germany as of 3 November 2024, up 3% or 282,900 HEAD compared to six months ago. However, the number of piglets and young pigs decreased by 2.5% or 254,700 head to 10 million. The number of sows, at 1.4 million, decreased by 1.3% (-18,100 head) compared to May 2024.