Fewer pigs were slaughtered in the United States

In the United States, between January and October 2021, 2.1 percent fewer pigs were slaughtered than during the same period last year. The supply of pigs is low, but the shortage of staff also affects pig farmers.

Statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that 11.08 million pigs were slaughtered in October. This is 932,000 fewer animals than in the same month of 2020, 7.8 percent less. Due to lower slaughter weights, pork production fell further, to 8.7 percent.

From January to October 2021, 106.8 million pigs were slaughtered in the United States to date. The total number of animals decreased by 2.29 million (-2.1 percent) compared to last year. During this period, pork production fell by 2.2 per cent to 10.37 million tonnes. There seems to be no end to this negative trend.

Production decline

Washington estimates that pork production will fall 2.2 percent to 12.55 million tons by 2021. Assume that the output decline is 4.3 percent in the fourth quarter. However, in October it almost doubled.

In addition to the number of small pigs, the ministry said labor shortages were also a factor in the current decline in pork production. This is also noticeable in stocks. At the end of October, the holdings in the United States stood at 199,410 tons. This is 1.7 percent less than it was at the end of October 2020.