Germany: Number of finishing pigs on the rise in North Rhine-Westphalia

According to preliminary data from the State Statistical Office of North Rhine-Westphalia, as of May 3, 2023, the pig inventory in this German state reached 5.73 million head, down 1% compared to November 2022 (5.79 million head). In May 2023, about 5,410 farms in the state had at least 50 pigs or ten breeding sows.

Finishing pigs between 50-80 kg saw an increase of 11.9% to 1.29 million head. Overall, the number of finishing pigs increased by 2.9% to 2.84 million head and accounted for almost 50% of the pig herd in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The number of piglets and breeding stock decreased to 1.54 million head (-5%) and 321,400 head (-3.7%), respectively. The number of young pigs also decreased by 4.1% to 1.03 million head.