Decrease in the number of animals slaughtered in 2022

Agriculture & fishery
Decrease in the number of animals slaughtered in 2022

In 2022, 25.83 million animals were slaughtered on a monthly basis. In terms of weight, pigs account for the largest share (60%, 877,000 pigs on a monthly basis). Chickens register the highest numbers, with 24.8 million chickens slaughtered per month.

Significant decrease for pigs and chickens, continued decrease for bovine animals

Over the year 2022, 755,000 bovine animals were slaughtered. This is a decrease of 2% compared to the previous year, confirming the downward trend already started in 2017.

In addition, 10.5 million pigs were slaughtered. This is a significant decrease of 9% compared to 2021. This decrease brings the number of pigs slaughtered to a level even lower than in the crisis year 2019.

298 million chickens were slaughtered in 2022. We can see here a decrease of 2%.

Pigs register the highest weight

  • With a share of 60% in terms of weight, the pig sector remains the largest contributor of slaughtered animals. That is 1.03 billion kg of slaughter weight every year.
  • The poultry sector accounts for 26% of the slaughter weight, with 442 million kg of slaughtered chickens.
  • The bovine sector has a share of 14% in terms of weight, with a total of 238 million kg of slaughtered animals.

Chickens register the highest numbers per month

If we look at the average number of slaughtered animals per month, we get approximately:

  • 25 million chickens
  • 877,000 pigs
  • 63,000 bovine animals
  • 60,000 turkeys
  • 8,000 sheep
  • 4,000 other poultry
  • 3,000 ducks
  • 2,000 goats
  • 110 horses