Pig slaughter figures in EU go up – once again

New data on pig slaughter figures in the 27 EU member states have once again revealed a positive trend in the first 6 months of 2025. That has become clear in figures shared by the European Commission.

Meatpackers processed 111.89 million pigs up to July 1, compared to 110.13 million in 2024. In the first 6 months of 2023, the supply was below 110 million pigs. When compared to 10 years ago, however, pig slaughter in 2025 is at a 7.7% lower level.

Spain is in the lead of the European market, having slaughtered 28 million pigs in the first 6 months of 2025. Germany comes second, with over 22 million pigs. Pig production in Germany has declined sharply over the past 10 years. In comparison: in the first half of 2015, numbers of pigs slaughtered in Germany still amounted to 29.3 million pigs.

The development of slaughter figures is in line with the latest pig inventory figures in the European Union. This spring, the 13 leading EU countries in pig production had a combined total of 121.8 million pigs this spring. That was 0.5% more than in 2024, according to Eurostat figures. Denmark (+5.6%) showed the strongest growth. Market leader Spain (+3.6%) has more pigs at the beginning of this year than a year earlier.

Despite a growth in the pig population, the number of sows is declining in the EU. In the 13 countries mentioned in the inventory, the number of sows decreased by 2.9%. The only exception is Hungary (+5.4%). The largest decrease in the sow population is in the Netherlands (-7%). According to those data, market leader Spain would count 5% fewer sows.

Insiders do not expect that to lead to a production decline in Spain. They point to a likely increase in piglet production as the swine industry is getting a better grip on health problems caused by the PRRS variant Rosalía.

Tags: European Union, Production, Sows, Pigs, slaughter