German pig slaughter falls slightly in first five months of 2026
Total output down 1% to 1.80 million tonnes, data shows
9 July 2026
1 minute read
By: Germany slaughtered approximately 18.48 million pigs in commercial slaughterhouses between January and May 2026, down 0.9% from 18.65 million in the same period last year, according to data from the Federal Statistical Office compiled by the German Pig Farmers' Association (ISN).
Slaughter of domestically raised pigs fell 0.5% to 18.18 million head over the five-month period. In May alone, 3.38 million pigs of German origin were slaughtered, compared with 3.52 million in May 2025. Pigs of foreign origin accounted for 289,638 head over the period, down from around 357,000 a year earlier.
Total pork production for the January-to-May period reached approximately 1.80 million tonnes, a decline of nearly 1.0%, or around 17,800 tonnes, from the same period in 2025.
