According to data from the European Commission, this moderate growth partly offsets the downturn observed in 2022–2023, when pig slaughter in the EU dropped from 249 million to 220 million head over two consecutive years. The main drivers behind the decline were the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the spread of African swine fever (ASF), particularly in Germany.
Spain remains the largest pork producer in Europe. In 2025, more than 56 million pigs were slaughtered in the country. Production in Spain continues to grow gradually, as in 2024 the level was below 54 million head.
Germany ranks second, with nearly 45 million pigs slaughtered last year. However, the country has experienced a long-term decline in production: for comparison, in 2016 Germany slaughtered more than 59 million pigs. One of the reasons is stricter animal welfare legislation, including restrictions on mating stalls and the transition to free-farrowing housing systems, which has led some sow producers to exit the sector.
France and Poland rank third and fourth in Europe, respectively, with about 20 million pigs slaughtered annually. French production, in particular, has remained relatively stable over recent years.
Analysts from Rabobank forecast that EU pork supply in the first half of 2026 could be higher than a year earlier. However, production may decline somewhat in the second half of the year, particularly due to a potential reduction in pig supply in Spain.
One of the risk factors mentioned is the recent detection of African swine fever in wild boar in Spain. Although the virus has not been confirmed in domestic pigs, its presence in the country has already somewhat limited pork export opportunities to certain third-country markets.
PigUA.info based on materials from pigprogress.net