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According to data published by the GPP, provided by the INE as preliminary data on pig slaughter in Portugal in the first half of 2026, and compared with the same period of 2025, the figures show a 4.2% increase in the total number of pigs slaughtered (+84,202 head), rising from 2,020,276 pigs slaughtered in the first half of 2025 to 2,104,478 head in 2026.
Total slaughter weight increased by 4.4%, meaning that producers sent pigs to slaughter at a slightly higher average slaughter weight in 2026 than in 2025. Total carcass weight increased from 177,597 tonnes in 2025 (87.9 kg average) to 185,467 tonnes this year (88.1 kg average). An important takeaway is that increasingly heavier pigs are being slaughtered in Portugal.
Regarding piglets, there was also a 6.8% increase in slaughter numbers, meaning that 36,625 more head were slaughtered in the first half of 2026 than in the same period of 2025. In 2025, 535,375 piglets were slaughtered in the first half of the year, while this year the number was 571,990. Slaughter weight increased by 7.3%, from 3,804 tonnes in 2025 to 4,081 tonnes in 2026, with little change in average weight, which was 7.1 kg carcass weight—the usual carcass weight for roasting piglets in Portugal.
As for cull breeding stock, 24,937 head were slaughtered in 2026 compared with 23,862 in 2025 (+4.5%). Total weight showed virtually no change, increasing from 3,561.6 tonnes in 2025 (149.25 kg average carcass weight) to 3,563 tonnes in 2026 (142.9 kg average weight). Therefore, cull breeding stock slaughtered in 2026 was lighter than in 2025.
In total, 2,701,405 pigs were slaughtered and approved for human consumption in the first half of 2026, 4.7% more than in 2025, when 2,579,513 head were slaughtered. Total slaughter weight was 193,110.8 tonnes, representing a 4.4% increase compared with 2025, when 184,963.3 tonnes were approved for consumption.
August 20, 2026/ SIMA - Suinos news nº 33/ Portugal.
https://www.gpp.pt/index.php/sima/sima-2018
