Point of view: European livestock numbers stabilise in spring

Since spring 2024, pig herds in the EU-27 have stabilised. The decapitalisation of pigs seems to have come to a halt, but this has not made up for the heavy losses of the last two years.

The 13 main European pig producers (1) carried out a census of their pig herds last spring. The results of this latest survey are fairly positive for European pig production, and confirm a pause in the intense downward trend in supply that has been underway since 2021. The number of sows surveyed has risen by 1.4% in one year (i.e. +133,000 sows), while the pig herd is still in slight decline (-1.6%).

EU-13 : Spring livestock census (thousands of head)

Source : IFIP based on Eurostat; EU-13 representing 93% of European livestock.

The recovery in the breeding herd in Europe is being driven mainly by Spain (+1.7%), which is restocking farms that have recently been affected by health problems linked to the Rosalia strain of PRRS. The German