Fewer pig farms in France

Agricultural census figures show that France had 8,500 farms with more than 20 sows or 100 pigs in 2020, compared with 11,500 in 2010 and 16,800 in 2000 (a 50.6% decrease over twenty years). However, this reduction has been accompanied by an increase in farm size, so that over the same period, the decrease in pig numbers appears more limited (-19.0%, according to SSP data).

The years 2022 and 2023 confirmed this downturn, with the French industry losing 24,000 sows in 2022 (-2.5%) and a further 28,000 sows in 2023 (-3.2%), as the French breeding herd fell below 900,000 head.