Colombia: General indicators for the pig farming industry in 2022

• The number of pigs slaughtered reached 5,536,331 head, a 6.6% increase compared to the total in 2021 (5,194,315 head).
• Pork production increased by 7.2% over the previous year, from 491,244 to 526,430 tons (t).
• The preliminary volume of imports stood at 142,002 t, an increase of 8.1% compared to 2021 (131,417 t).
• Apparent consumption reached 668,432 t, representing an increase of 7.4% over 2021 (622,661 t), while per capita consumption was estimated at 13.0 kg/inhabitant, representing a year-on-year increase of 6.6%.

Throughout the year, pig slaughter and production grew steadily despite the more than 25% increase in the cost of feed and the outbreaks of PEDv and PRSS that affected some farms in Valle del Cauca in July.

Import volumes remained firm and saw significant growth in the first nine months of the year; however, in the last quarter, there was an average drop of more than 30% in this indicator. In this sense, the supply of pork in 2022 was very robust, supported by producer prices that rose sharply starting in the second quarter and exceeded COP 10,000/kg live in the last week of November. Likewise, demand was favored and boosted by the competitiveness of consumer prices with respect to other proteins such as beef and chicken, which made it possible to increase the share of pork in Colombian households' consumption.