At 23.7 million head, French pig production suffered a slight decline of 1% in 2021, the second consecutive year of decreases. Over the last 10 years, the average decrease has been 0.6% per year.
This decrease reflects a 3.4% reduction in the pig herd. At the end of 2021, it stood at 12.9 million head, representing 9.1% of the European herd. The reduction in the herd took place in a context of a clear deterioration in the profitability of swine farms. In ten years, the French pig herd has declined by an average of 0.7% per year. The breeding herd (sows and boars) has seen the greatest decline over the past ten years, representing 7.3% of the total herd in 2021 compared to 8.0% in 2011.
The decrease in French production comes against a backdrop of a recovery in world pork production (+4.2%), after falling by 1.4% in 2020 and 9.0% in 2019.
PigUA.info by pig333.com