Enlarge image
Pig farming: Farms are getting bigger and bigger
Photo: Sina Schuldt / dpa
More and more farmers are giving up pig farming in view of the low demand and low prices for meat.
The number of pigs in Germany fell as of November 3rd to the lowest level in 25 years, as announced by the Federal Statistical Office.
The number of businesses fell by almost eight percent compared to the previous year.
As of the reporting date, 23.6 million pigs were counted in Germany's stables.
That is the lowest level since 1996, announced the statisticians.
Compared to the previous year, the number fell by 9.4 percent, compared to May 2021 by 4.4 percent.
All farms with at least 50 pigs or ten breeding sows are taken into account.
There are several reasons for the decline:
Germans eat less and less pork.
Large events with bratwurst stands are often canceled due to the corona crisis.
And the largest buyer, China, has stopped buying from Germany because of the African swine fever.
The latter was first detected in a domestic pig herd in Germany in July.
Fewer cattle, too, but more sheep
The number of companies was reportedly at the beginning of November at 18,800.
Compared to May that was 4.6 percent or 900 less.
In a ten-year comparison, the number of pigs kept fell by almost 14 percent, and that of farms with pigs in the barn by almost 40 percent.
On the other hand, the trend towards larger and larger farms continued, which are often better able to withstand economic pressure: the average pig population has increased from 886 to 1254 pigs per farm since 2011.
The German Farmers 'Association had only announced at the beginning of December that the pig farmers' situation was "more than tense".
"The persistent ruinous producer prices for slaughter pigs and piglets are threatening the very existence."
According to the Federal Statistical Office, there were also decreases in the number of cattle kept.
As of the reporting date, the number in Germany was a good eleven million, 2.3 percent or 262,198 fewer than a year earlier.
A similar trend can be seen in dairy cows, while the number of sheep has recently increased somewhat.
apr / AFP / dpa