Inventory in North America: More pigs in the USA, less in Canada Pig farming in North America has been around approx. 13% rose to almost 90 million animals. This resulted in the joint inventory at the turn of the year 2019/20 in the two neighboring countries. For comparison: 148 million pigs are largely unchanged in the EU-28 . The USA has the largest share with 77 million animals. The increase since 2014 is 14%. The growth rates have continued until recently. The US sow population has grown by 8.8% to 6.5 million animals since 2014. In the same period, pork production increased by approx. 20% increased. Domestic consumption has increased by 15%. Exports rose by 28% to 3.5 million tons. On average over the years, vertical pig farming in the United States has generated profits of approximately $ 15 per animal . Low feed costs below $ 50 per fattening pig were a cornerstone.Rising domestic sales brought sufficient revenue. Relief came from increasing exports. In Canada , on the other hand, after an increasing initial phase, the pig population declined again in 2018. The number of animals falls by 2% to 13.9 million pigs. The reason for this is the fall in pig prices, which jeopardize the profitability of production. You are less competitive with the United States. Of the almost 2 million t of Canadian pork production, 1.3 million t flow into exports. The economy in both countries has deteriorated significantly in recent months . Prices below 1 € / kg are no longer cost-covering. Domestic demand has also reached the saturation limit in the United States. The expectations for relief with increasing sales to China were not met. The coronavirus epidemic exacerbated the difficult sales situation.
