Nearly 5 million more pigs were slaughtered in the EU in the first half of this year than in the same period in 2014, according to AHDB Pork.
Based on the latest figures from Eurostat, the number of pigs slaughtered across the EU increased by 4%, year-on-year, a higher rate of growth than previously forecast.
“All the major producers recorded increased throughputs, with growth led by Spain, where 8% more pigs were slaughtered,” said AHDB Pork. “There was a similar rate of increase in the Netherlands, partly due to lower exports of slaughter pigs to Germany. Even so, German throughputs were up 2%, while France and Denmark killed 1% more pigs.”
The increased rate of growth also continued in June, with slaughterings across the EU up 7% on the same month last year, at 20.7 million head.
“Even allowing for an extra working day during the month this year, this confirms that supplies remained plentiful,” said AHDB Pork.