Schweine Cockpit, 14.09.2018

(AMI) - After slipping back slightly in 2017, European slaughterhouse production picked up significantly in the first half of 2018. With a total of 130 million slaughtered animals, the plus was almost 3%, or + 4 million pieces. Relatively high pig and pig prices have motivated farmers to expand sow and fattening pigs in the past year. In Spain, Poland, Denmark and the Netherlands in particular, livestock farmers increased their stocks. In the first half of the year, Spain plays a pioneering role in pork production with a plus of 6.0% compared to the same period of the previous year. Production has been significantly expanded here for several years, and steady growth is expected for the years to come. Nevertheless, despite a reduction in battle numbers, Germany was able to maintain its leading position in the ranking.Foreign trade stabilizes While production within the European Union has increased significantly, foreign trade stagnated in the first half of the current year. Until June, the EU exported around 1.8 million tonnes of pork to destinations outside the confederation of states. Compared to the previous year, this corresponds to a minimal increase of just 1%. The largest supplier will remain Germany in 2018, closely followed by Spain. Both countries were once again able to significantly expand their delivery volumes to third countries. The main customer is by far China. After a weak start, trade stabilized over the course of the year, with deliveries now almost exactly at the previous year's level. In addition, trade with Asia plays an increasingly important role.In addition to China, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines are also among the most important buyers of European pork.