2 3
Decreasing pig slaughter Decreasing pig slaughter is a second indicator for the problems in the German pig meat industry. While
in Germany the number of slaughtered pigs decreased by 4.2 million (8.9%) between 2010 and 2020, it grew by 15.6 million (38.2%) in Spain (Table 1). Spain reached the top po- sition in the 27 countries of the European Union not only in terms of pig inventory but also in terms of pig slaughter. The country became the most important competitor for Germany on the global market. The reduction in pig slaughter not only reflects the dynamics in the inventory but also the drastic change in piglet and hog imports.
Drastic reduction of live pig imports As mentioned before, the past success of the German pig meat industry depended to a high degree on pig-
let and hog imports. The shutdown of large abattoirs during the Covid-19 pandemic and the import ban of several coun- tries after the first outbreaks of African Swine Fever (ASF) in September 2020 resulted in an oversupply of slaughter pigs and a dramatic decline in prices for the farmers. Table 2 docu- ments the impacts that had on the imports of live pigs. As early as 2018, imports were already reducing as farmers hesitated to place piglets due to the low prices for hogs. The massive decrease happened in 2019 and 2020. Slaughter pig imports almost collapsed. Compared to 2015, 40% fewer were imported; imports from the Netherlands even fell by more than 60%. The shutdown of the abattoirs and the diminishing demand for pig meat be- cause of several lockdowns resulted in a mas- sive oversupply of heavy slaughter pigs, further decreasing prices for the hog farmers and reducing piglet im- ports. Prices stayed low, re-
Figure 1 - The development of pig populations in selected countries between 2015 and 2020.
50 60 70 80
10 20 30 40
Denmark 0
Source: A.S. Kauer based on data from AMI Marktbilanz Vieh und Fleisch. 2015
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Germany Spain USA
Table 2 – The development of Germany’s life pig imports from the Netherlands and Denmark between 2015 and 2020.
Year
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Change (%) Total
Breeding pigs and piglets from the
15,707 16,203 15,770 14,389 14,624 13,093 -16.6
Slaughter pigs from
Netherlands Denmark 8,346 8,605 8,206 7,068 6,506 5,956 -28.6
6,720 6,559 6,496 6,421 6,717 6,355 -5.4
Source: AMI Marktbilanz Vieh und Fleisch, various editions. Total
4,403 4,738 4,030 3,303 3,318 2,220 -49.6
from the
Netherlands 3,658 3,641 3,135 2,272 1,871 1,420 -61.1
Table 3 – The development of pig meat production in Germany and Spain between 2020 and 2020.
Year
2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020
ILLUSTRATION: SHUTTERSTOCK ▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 37, No. 10, 2021 7 Germany
x1,000 tonnes 5,468 5,460 5,516 5,581 5,363 5,102
Index:
(2010 = 100) 100.0 99.9
100.9 102.0 98.1 93.3
x1,000 Spain Index:
tonnes (2010 = 100) 3,369 3,466 3,620 4,181 4,530 5,024
100.0 102.9 107.5 124.1 134.5 149.1
Source: AMI Marktbilanz Vieh und Fleisch, various editions; MAPA 2021.
> 2,099 > 1,994 > 1,896 > 1,400 > 833 > 78
D > < E
x Million pigs
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44