Germany: Meat production fell by 5.9 percent in the first half of 2023
9.4% less pork than in the first half of 2022
In the first six months of the year, German farms slaughtered 21.6 million pigs. This corresponds to a decrease of around 2.2 million animals slaughtered (-9.2%) compared to the previous year. Already in the first half of 2022, the decline compared to the same period of the previous year was 8.9%. Pork production has been declining steadily since 2017.
The amount of pork produced in H1 2023 was 2.1 million tons, down 9.4% on the same period last year (-213,000 tons). One reason for the declining pork production is the likewise declining pig stocks in Germany.
At 20.9 million pigs, the number of animals of domestic origin slaughtered fell by 10.0% (previous year: 23.2 million). The 741,300 pigs of foreign origin slaughtered represent an increase of 19.6% compared to the same period last year, when 619,700 pigs were slaughtered from abroad. The proportion of pigs of foreign origin in the total number of pigs slaughtered was 3.4% (same period in the previous year: 2.6%).
Beef production 0.9% higher than the same period last year
In total, companies in Germany slaughtered around 1.4 million cattle in the first half of 2023. Compared to the previous year, this means a decrease of 0.1% (-1,300 animals). The amount of beef produced rose by 0.9% to 481,500 tons (+4,500 tons) in the survey period compared to the first half of 2022.
Poultry meat production largely constant
In the first half of 2023, companies in Germany slaughtered a total of 343.9 million animals of various types of poultry, 2.7% fewer than in the same period of the previous year. At around 770,900 tons, poultry meat was produced in the first half of 2023, 0.1% less than in the same period last year (-760 tons).
Pork with the largest share of production
Despite the significant declines since 2017, pork has accounted for the largest share of commercial meat production in Germany for years. In the first half of 2023, 62.0% of the meat produced came from slaughtered pigs. This was followed by poultry meat with a share of 23.2% and beef with 14.5%. The meat from sheep, goats and horses accounted for only around 0.4% of the total production.
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