In the first half of the year, Germany imported approximately 4.87 million piglets, only 1% fewer than between January and June 2025.
By contrast, imports of pigs ready for slaughter declined much more sharply, falling by 13.9% to around 350,000 head.
The decrease was mainly driven by lower deliveries from the Netherlands and Belgium. The Netherlands, which remains the largest supplier of slaughter pigs to the German market, shipped around 260,000 head, down 9.8% year on year.
Imports from Belgium fell by 27.1% to approximately 50,000 pigs. Germany also imported fewer slaughter-ready pigs from Denmark and France.
Piglet import trends varied significantly depending on the country of origin. Denmark strengthened its position as the main supplier of young pigs to German finishing farms, increasing deliveries by 0.3% to around 3.7 million piglets.
Meanwhile, piglet imports from the Netherlands declined by 6.6% to approximately 1.13 million head.
Export flows also changed. During the first half of the year, Germany exported around 400,000 piglets, representing a 22.4% decrease compared with the same period last year.
At the same time, exports of slaughter pigs to neighbouring countries rose by 1.9% to approximately 370,000 head.
Overall, the data show that the German market remains heavily dependent on imported piglets for finishing, particularly from Denmark. At the same time, imports of pigs ready for slaughter continue to decline.
PigUA.info, based on materials from euromeatnews.com