Reports regularly point out that Germany’s self-sufficiency rate for pork remains at around 135%, despite declining production. This suggests that more pigs are raised in Germany than are needed for domestic consumption.
The supposedly excessive number of pigs is also said to result in unnecessarily high environmental pollution. However, this suggests a high level of supply security that does not exist in reality.
A pig’s carcass yields various cuts in different proportions. The so-called prime cuts make up about 60% of the carcass; the remainder consists of fatty and blubbery cuts, as well as the head, trotters, etc. A significant portion of the carcass is hardly consumed in Germany, particularly pig heads, trotters, and tails. These are primarily in demand abroad. At the same time, domestic supply of prime cuts such as loins, fillets, and hams is insufficient. Market experts estimate that the self-sufficiency rate for these prime cuts is around 80%. The remaining demand must be met through imports.
Unfortunately, the authorities have not yet published any official calculations on the self-sufficiency rate that differentiate pork by cut. The German Federal Association of Cattle and Pigs (Bundesverband Rind und Schwein e. V.) therefore calls for such analyses and calculations to obtain a more realistic picture of the supply situation in Germany and to enable more informed political and economic decisions.
