Last year for industrial pork producers was marked by both increased wartime challenges and increased investment attractiveness of the industry and, as a result, more active expansion of production capacity, including due to the influx of ‘newcomers’. However, scaling up was not the only thing that Ukrainian pig producers were concerned about last year, according to the analysts of the Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders:
‘Most proactive operators in the industry understand that work on improving production efficiency and productivity is always relevant, regardless of the price environment.’
‘According to the results of 2023, we have seen an increase in average daily weight gain in both growing and fattening. In particular, the average level of the indicator for growing up added more than 6% compared to last year, including due to a significant improvement (by more than 25%) in the minimum sample rate. Growth rates for fattening animals also showed positive dynamics, with the range of variation increasing from 538-1093 g/day in 2022 to 681-1105 g/day in 2023. Accordingly, the animals reached slaughter weight faster (in 155-195 days last year versus 158-220 days in 2022), while the latter increased in parallel. Thus, while in the year of the full-scale invasion, animals were sold for slaughter on average weighing 111.7 kg, in 2023 this figure was 114.5 kg. In addition, the sample of 2023 set a new maximum in the number of animals sold per sow per year among closed-type farms - 36.6 head, or 5% higher than the previously achieved level,’ analysts of the industry association shared.
More details about the results of benchmarking of industrial pig farms in Ukraine can be found in the October issue of Profitable Pig Production: Military Digest magazine, No. 5 (83), October 2024.
