Meat production in Germany fell in the first half of 2023

According to preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), Germany produced just under 3.3 million tonnes of meat in the first half of 2023, down 5.9% compared to the same period last year. In total, 23.6 million head of pigs, cattle, sheep, goats and horses were slaughtered, as well as 343.9 million head of chickens, turkeys and ducks. In the first six months of 2023, 21.6 million pigs were slaughtered in Germany, representing a decrease of 2.2 million animals slaughtered (-9.2%). The number of animals slaughtered of domestic origin amounted to 20.9 million animals, down 10% (a year earlier: 23.2 million). Also, 741.3 thousand animals of foreign origin were sent for slaughter, which is 19.6% more than in the same period last year (619.7 thousand animals). Thus, the share of pigs of foreign origin in the total number of slaughtered pigs was 3.4% (last year: 2.6%). Pork production has been continuously declining since 2017. The volume of pork production in the ...