Meat production in Germany declined by 2.4% year-on-year in 2021, with commercial slaughterhouses producing 7.6 million tonnes of meat, according to Destatis (Germany's Federal Statistical Office).
In total, 56.2 million pigs, cattle, sheep, goats and horses, as well as 668.7 million chickens, turkeys and ducks were slaughtered in 2021.
Previously, Destatis had reported that meat production in Germany declined by 1.7% year-on-year in the first half of last year.
Pork, Beef Production
For the full year, pig slaughter declined by 2.9% year-on-year, to 51.8 million animals, with the country producing just under 5.0 million tonnes of meat.
The number of slaughtered pigs of domestic origin decreased by 0.8 % to 50.6 million, while the number of imported pigs slaughtered in German farms fell by 49% to 1.2 million.
In 2021, pork production fell for the fifth year in a row.
Beef production for the year declined by 1.8% year-on-year to 1.1 million tonnes, Destatis added.
The number of cattle slaughtered commercially fell by just under 1.0% compared to 2020, to 3.2 million animals.
Poultry Production
Germany’s poultry production fell by 1.6%, compared to 2020, to just under 1.6 million tonnes.
The decline was mainly driven by 7.4% decline in turkey meat production, to 0.4 million tonnes.
In contrast, the production of young broiler meat increased by 1.4%, to 1.1 million tonnes.
Elsewhere, German consumer sentiment dropped for the third month in a row in February due to the current incidence of infection and ongoing COVID-19 measures, according to latest data from the German Retail Association (HDE).
