Estimated EU pig meat production for June and July sits at 1.78 million tonnes and 1.66 million tonnes respectively, according to AHDB. For June this is a year-on-year decline of 5.7% and for July a decline of 8.4%. This brings the estimated year to date (Jan- Jul) production for the EU27 to 12.95 million tonnes, the lowest volume since 2017.
For the six key producing nations, year to date figures show only Spain with year-on-year growth, albeit a marginal 0.2%. Germany saw the largest change year on year, declining 10.1% in 2022. Poland and Denmark also saw significant decline, down 9.2% and 4.0% respectively. France and the Netherlands were each down around 1.5%.
Lower production has been driven by a lower kill. Estimated slaughter numbers for June and July stand at 19.23 million head and 18.13 million head, a year-on-year drop of 5.2% and 7.8% respectively. It is likely that some of this decline may be due to the heatwaves experienced across Europe and the northern hemisphere during these two months. This brings estimated year to date (Jan – Jul) pig slaughter for the EU27 to 137.91 million head, the lowest kill recorded in the last 5 years.
