According to data published by Eurostat in the spring 2025 livestock surveys, the pig herd of the 13 EU member states that provide information reached 121.8 million head, 0.5% more than in 2024.
Denmark led the growth with an increase of 5.6%, followed by Hungary (+3.8%) and Spain (+3.6%), the latter being the largest pig producer in the EU. France also showed a slight increase of 0.8%.
In contrast, sharp declines were observed in Ireland (-7.4%) and the Netherlands (-6%). Herds also decreased in Romania (-3.2%), Belgium (-2.0%), Austria (-1.4%), Germany (-1.2%) and Italy (-1.1%). Poland (-0.1%) and Sweden (-0.4%) remained practically stable.
In contrast with the slight expansion of the total herd, the number of breeding sows in the EU-13 fell 2.9% year-on-year. Only Hungary (+5.4%), Denmark (+0.5%) and France (+0.6%) registered increases. The most pronounced drops occurred in the Netherlands (-7%), Spain (-5%) and Poland (-4.5%). The impact of this reduction on European pork production will be reflected in the coming months. Source: Eurostat
