EU pork production is at its lowest level in almost a decade

All key producing countries saw significant declines, but Germany was the most notable, Shuttleworth said. Although Germany has seen a decline in production since 2017, the annual decline is only 2-3%, but in 2022 the annual decline was almost 10%. This is a loss of almost half a million tons in 12 months. Poland, Spain, Denmark and Belgium recorded a decline in annual production of 110,000-180,000 tons in 2022.

The reduction in slaughter was the driving force behind the decline in production. The total slaughter of pigs in the EU-27 in 2022 was 237 million heads, the lowest recorded figure since 2014 and a sharp year-on-year decrease of 12.6 million heads (-5.1%). The largest decline by country was observed in Germany (-4.8 million heads), Poland (-1.9 million heads), Spain (-1.7 million heads) and Belgium (-1.1 million heads).

The downward trend continues and explains much of the decline in the number of slaughtered pigs. In 2022, the pig herd in the EU decreased by 5.8% as a result of problems faced by producers and processors. What will matter more to the market in the future is a -6.2% reduction in the number of breeding sows. The decline in this number of sows indicates that we should see a reduction in the number of pigs available for slaughter in 2023 and supports broader industry comment about limited supply. This could mean that high hog prices will continue to persist in the EU if domestic consumption remains stable, as projected in the latest short-term EU forecast. In the longer term, both pork consumption and production are projected to decline, which,