More pork on the market
MALTA - Nearly 127,000 pigs were slaughtered last year, an increase of 2.9 per cent on the year before, according to figures just released by the National Statistics Office.
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The total pig stock stood at 78,303 in December 2002 – 19,000 piglets, 21,356 young pigs, 30,252 fattening pigs and 7,794 breeding stock. The breeding stock is made up of 404 breeding boars, 7,390 breeding sows of which 602 gilts have not yet been mated.
Just under 94 per cent of pigs are found in Malta and just over six per cent in Gozo. Last year 126,864 pigs were slaughtered representing a total carcass weight of 10,405,048 kilograms. The pig industry is the largest contributor to the slaughtering sector.
When compared to 2001 the amount of heads slaughtered increased by 2.9 per cent while the total carcass weight of slaughtered pigs increased by 4.8 per cent.
While the average carcass weight of pigs slaughtered increased from 80.6 kilograms to 82 kilograms, the number of pigs fattened for slaughter per breeding sow decreased by 2.2 per cent from 18.3 fattening to 17.9 fattening pigs per sow.
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Source:National Statistics Office Malta - 4th March 2003
