ISN (Schweine.net) provides their latest update on the Danish pork market which shows a significant decline in the Danish herd.

18 million pigs were kept in the northern neighbouring country on 1 April 2019 which was 558,000 animals or 4.4 percent less than a year earlier. This was also the lowest pig population in a spring survey since 2013.

The end of the increase in stocks since mid-2017 had already signalled the end of January, when the number of pigs kept declining for the first time in a long while, by 1.5 percent, reports Agra Europe.

Declines across the board

Lower numbers of animals were found in the most recent sample survey at around 1,850 farms for all categories compared to the previous year, in particular for fattening pigs with a minus of 252,000 animals or 8.5 percent to 5.68 million heads. The number of piglets weighing less than 20kg fell by 4.4 percent year-on-year to 2.54 million; however, the number of runners weighing between 20kg and 50kg was only 2.3 percent lower at 5.69 million.

Slaughter numbers also falling significantly

According to the statisticians from Copenhagen, the Danish producers also noticeably reduced their sow herd. Overall, the number of female breeding animals decreased by 57,000 animals or 4.5 percent to just under 1.22 million in April 2018 compared to the survey. The stock of pregnant animals decreased by 4.7 percent to 755,000; the number of non-pregnant sows fell by 4.7 percent to 460,000. The lower number of pigs, as well as the increased number of piglets and pigs exported abroad, also caused the Danish pig slaughter numbers to decline significantly (by 4.8 percent) from January to the beginning of May compared to the same period of the previous year, according to preliminary data from L & F.