A 1.2% decline in herds of pigs was noted in the EU during 2018. The total number of pigs reaches 148 million heads, according to a Eurostat report. Most of this decline is due to a 4% fall in Germany, along with a 7% decrease in the number of pigs in Poland. However, the growth of livestock is observed in Spain and France.
"Persistent difficulties with African swine fever are more likely to have affected swine production in Poland. The Netherlands also reported a significant decline in the number of piglets (-31,000 heads), suggesting that this will affect production figures in the near future," Hannah Clarke, an AHDB Trainee Analyst, explained.
The number of sows in Spain increased by 2% (46,000 heads), which led to the fact that the total number of pigs in the country increased by 833,000 heads. Spain is one of the few large pork producers in Europe who have increased their livestock due to the growing volumes of pork exports to China and Japan.
Source: meatinfo.ru.
