Over the course of 2025, Germany imported approximately 10.47 million live pigs, which is 9.4% fewer than in 2024. As before, piglets accounted for the majority of imports. Around 9.71 million piglets were imported — 5.8% fewer than the previous year.
An even steeper decline was observed in the slaughter pig segment. In 2025, imports totaled only about 760,000 head, which is 39.2% below the previous year’s level.
Denmark retained its position as the main supplier of piglets to the German market, with approximately 7.33 million head. However, Danish deliveries also declined slightly, by 1.3% year-on-year.
The overall reduction in piglet imports was largely linked to lower deliveries from the Netherlands. These fell by around 500,000 head (–18.5%) to 2.33 million piglets. The reason was a shift in trade flows: during the year, the Netherlands increasingly supplied piglets to Spain, which, with about 2.67 million head, became the main buyer of Dutch piglets.
However, after the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in Spain at the end of November, trade flows shifted again. Exports of Dutch piglets to Spain declined significantly. At the same time, these additional volumes were not redirected to Germany — no noticeable increase in shipments to the German market was recorded in December 2025.
Imports of slaughter pigs from neighboring countries also changed. About 550,000 slaughter pigs were imported from the Netherlands to Germany — 37.4% fewer than the year before. Deliveries from Belgium totaled around 140,000 head, representing a 44.2% year-on-year decline.
Thus, 2025 was marked by a significant restructuring of regional trade flows in the EU pig sector, influenced in particular by epizootic factors and shifting market priorities among importers.
PigUA.info based on euromeatnews.com