Far more hogs slaughtered in Spain and Denmark

Price drop or not, Europe's largest pork producers further increased the number of slaughters in the first quarter of 2026. Slaughterhouses in Spain, Germany and Denmark alike hung more pigs on the hooks. This increases the meat volume of key competitors of Dutch processors. As a result, the rising trend in the number of pig slaughters, which started last year, clearly continues. Moreover, the pace is higher than last year. This is evident from figures from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, the German Federal Statistical Office (DESTATIS) and the Danish trade union for pig farmers (Danske Svine Producenter). In particular in Spain and Denmark, the number of slaughters is rising quickly. Spain again heading towards a record slaughter In Spain, 15.1 million pigs were slaughtered in the first quarter. This means that the number of slaughters is again almost at the level of record year 2022, when 15.3 million pigs were processed in the first quarter. Last year, this number stood at 14.5 million in the same period. The increase amounts to about 570,000 head, or 3.9%. Meanwhile, the share of sow and breeding boar slaughters in Spain has risen again. While 770,000 sows and boars were processed in 2024, that number had already risen to 950,000 head in 2025. In the first quarter, it concerned about 280,000 animals. This may be an initial signal that pig farmers are culling extra sows, partly in light of low prices for pigs and piglets, among other things due to African swine fever. German number of slaughters rises slightly Germany processed about 11.5 million pigs in the first quarter, compared with 11.4 million a year earlier. The increase amounted to 35,000 head, or 0.3%. This suggests that the number of slaughters, after a clear increase in 2025, is now stabilizing somewhat. Denmark continues to grow strongly After the number of slaughters in Denmark already rose significantly in 2025, this trend continued in the first quarter of 2026. According to figures from Danske Svine Producenter, 4.2 million pigs were slaughtered in the first 3 months of the year. That is an increase of more than 300,000 head, or 7.8%, compared with the first quarter of 2025. The increase is linked to attempts by slaughterhouse Danish Crown to process more pigs in its own country and to encourage less piglet exports. Growing production puts pressure on the continent The growing pork production is putting pressure on the European meat market, including in the Netherlands. Dutch processors are highly dependent on sales within Europe, especially for the more expensive parts of the pig. Export figures for January and February show that export volumes of pork excluding by-products and slaughter waste to European countries have clearly fallen. Although this is partly related to a lower number of slaughters in the Netherlands, the export volume appears to have fallen more sharply. In January and February, the volume was about 15% below the level of a year earlier. In previous years with a large European meat market and low pig prices (2020, 2021 and early 2022), export volumes to European countries were also at a clearly lower level.