EU slaughters more and heavier pigs in the first half of 2021

According to data from the European statistical office Eurostat, a total of 124.17 million pigs were slaughtered in the first half of 2021 in the 27 EU countries. That is an increase of 4.31 million animals compared to January to June 2020. Because the slaughter weights were also higher, pork production in the first half of 2021 increased by 478,000 tons (+4.2 percent) compared to the previous year. year before. Spain has strengthened its position as the main producing country in the European Union (EU). There, the number of pigs slaughtered rose by 1.34 million animals (+4.9 percent) to 28.34 million heads. Unlike many other countries, slaughter weights in Spain fell slightly, causing pork production to increase 'only' by 4.1 percent to 2.61 million tons. Germany slaughter less In contrast to the rest of Europe, the number of slaughters in Germany fell by 685,000 animals (-2.6 percent) to 26.09 million in the first half of 2021. Meat production decreased by 1.3 percent to 2.52 ...