Schweine Cockpit, 18.01.2019

As the livestock census of November 2018 showed, at the end of last year, only 22,400 farms still had pigs or sows nationwide. Within one year, once again, around 1,100 businesses have closed their doors. This corresponds to a decline of almost 5%, in the sows, the minus is even more pronounced. This development is already being felt in the stock. According to preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office, the total number of pigs decreased by 4.1% year-on-year. The most significant decreases are in piglets and young pigs. One reason for this development is certainly to be found in the difficult economic situation of the past months and years. Difficult time for pigmeat Since the autumn of 2017, the profitability of pig farming is causing problems. Especially in recent months, the costs have increased often, especially feed became more expensive. Spending on food accounts for around 50% of the total costs.Even the comparably low prices for piglets could not compensate for this, especially as the high costs were offset by very low slaughter revenues. Even with an optimal cost structure and very good biological performance, it is hardly possible to achieve profits through pig fattening. For average performance, the model of the Agricultural Market Information Society (AMI) in 2018 shows a loss of 8 Ct / kg slaughter weight. In order to cover any cost factors, farmers need a slaughter pig price of around EUR 1.52 / kg.