March 28, 2024

Schweinefleisch

More pigs are being slaughtered in the UK

According to AHDB, the total slaughter of pigs on the island in 2021 increased by about 2% from the previous year to 11.1 million animals.

Because slaughter weights were significantly higher, pork production increased by 4% to 1.02 million tons. This was the highest level of production since 1999. The increase in slaughter weights was caused, among other things, by the fact that labor shortages in slaughter and butchering led to an accumulation of pigs and the inability to deliver the animals on time.

This was also reflected in the results of the Livestock Census for England in December. At the beginning of the month, the number of pigs there was 4.09 million; This was 9.0% higher compared to December 2020 and more than at any time since 2002. The increase was attributed exclusively to an increase in the broiler population which jumped 10.6% to 3.70 million heads compared to the previous year due to marketing issues.

In contrast, the number of pigs with pigs decreased by 6.9% to 295 thousand animals within a year. Therefore no further increase in UK pig production can be expected in the long run, even if the stock data initially concerned only England.

As announced by the Asian Human Development Bank, the slaughter of cows and calves decreased by 5% compared to 2020 to 1.95 million heads. The number of slaughtered cows also decreased by 6% to 638,000 heads.

Omar