Denmark was Europe’s fifth biggest pork producer in 2022, with a total output of 1.6 million tonnes. However, Danish production has started to decrease since reaching all-time highs in 2021, at 1.7 million tonnes. The trend toward decreasing pig populations continues; the National Statistics Office in Copenhagen reports only 11 million pigs as of 1st July 2023.
This corresponds to a reduction of 9.6% in twelve months. The decline is particularly severe in the fattening sector; the statistics office records a fall of 16.5% to 2.33 million fattening pigs. There was a further reduction in stocks in Danish piglet production. Here, however, the reduction of 6.5% compared to the previous year was not as severe as in the fattening sector. Nevertheless, the Danish sow herd fell to its lowest level for decades.
