EU pork production shows signs of recovery
The latest figures from the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) show an increase of 2.0% in pig slaughters from January to April 2024 compared to the same period last year. In the first four months of this year, 74.85 million pigs were slaughtered in the EU member states. The slaughter weights were significantly higher, so that the amount of pork produced even increased by 3.7% to 6.95 million tonnes.
Particularly strong increases in slaughter volumes were recorded in Croatia (+12.8%), Bulgaria (+12.7%), Poland (+10.9%) and Hungary (+10.3%). The major producing countries also recorded an increase in pork production. In Spain the increase was 2.8%, in Germany 2.9% and in France 3.1%. In Italy the volume increased by 3.2% and in Belgium by 5.3%.
Increases of 2.8% were reported from the Netherlands and Denmark. The increase in slaughter volume in Denmark is particularly notable, as almost 200,000 fewer pigs were slaughtered there than in the same period last year. However, the almost 6 kg higher slaughter weight leads to a larger slaughter volume.
Pork production only declined in a few smaller member states such as Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Greece. According to Eurostat figures, the declines ranged from 1.6% in Latvia to 18.4% in Greece.
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