Germany Records Small Increase in Meat Production in 2013
GERMANY - In 2013, commercial meat production was just under 8.1 million tonnes, an increase of 0.4 per cent over the previous year, according to provisional but official German statistics, writes Jackie Linden.
10 February 2014
3 minute read
Beef production was down by 2.4 per cent but there were modest gains for pork and poultry meat. Although small in size, there were double-digit reductions for goats, horses and ducks.
In 2013, according to provisional figures from the official statistics office in Germany (Destasis), the country's total commercial meat production reached just under 8.1 million, according to the national meat association, VDF. This represents an increase of 0.4 per cent or 39,500 tonnes. This increase is largely the result of greater productivity from the poultry and pig meat sectors.
Pig Meat
The number of pigs slaughtered during the year was up by 0.7 per cent or 411,500 animals at more than 58.6 million.
The volume of commercial pig meat was just under 5.5 million tonnes, exceeding the previous year by 0.6 per cent or 34,500 tonnes, which pushes but not beat the 2011 record figures of 5.6 million tonnes of pork from 59.6 million pigs.
Beef
Germany's production of commercial beef from just under 3.5 million cattle was lower than the previous year by 3.4 per cent or 122,100 head.
Average slaughter weight was around 3.3kg higher in 2013, however, so the fall in volume was less than that in animal numbers; at just over 1.1 million tonnes, it was down by 2.4 per cent or 26,800 tonnes from 2012.
Other Red Meats
In the last year, sheep meat production was 20,000 tonnes, 2.5 per cent less than in 2012. Meat output from young lams was down by less than one per cent, most of the fall coming from an almost 10 per cent reduction in older animals.
Goat and horse meat volumes totalled 3,100 tonnes, each registering a double-digit fall compared to the previous year.
Poultry Meat
German poultry meat output showed a 2.0 per cent or 28,700-tonne increase in 2013 to just under 1.5 million tonnes. Broilers made up the majority of this total, producing 910,200 tonnes of chicken. This represents an increase of 46,700 tonnes or 5.4 per cent from 2012.
For the last 20 years, German poultry meat output has increased almost continuously so that the volume now is almost three times that in 1991. The only year when there was no annual increase was 2006, when production fell as the result of bird flu.
For other poultry, output was down in 2013 - by 1.3 per cent for turkey but by more than 22 per cent for duck meat.
| Commercial meat production in Germany in 2013 (provisional figures) (Source Destatis) |
||||
| Livestock | Units | 2012 | 2013 | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pigs | ('000 animals) | 58,213.1 | 58,624.6 | 0.7 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 5,459.6 | 5,494.4 | 0.6 | |
| Cattle, total | ('000 animals) | 3,617.0 | 3,494.9 | -3.4 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 1,135.4 | 1,108.6 | -2.4 | |
| of which: | ||||
| Calves | ('000 animals) | 339.9 | 314.9 | -7.4 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 46.5 | 44.3 | -4.9 | |
| Youngstock | ('000 animals) | 64.7 | 60.0 | -21.3 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 10.2 | 8.1 | -20.7 | |
| Heifers | ('000 animals) | 485.5 | 472.0 | -2.8 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 143.0 | 139.3 | -2.6 | |
| Cows | ('000 animals) | 1,281.4 | 1,220.5 | -4.8 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 387.5 | 367.7 | -5.1 | |
| Bullocks | ('000 animals) | 24.0 | 23.3 | -2.6 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 8.0 | 7.7 | -3.0 | |
| Bulls | ('000 animals) | 1,421.2 | 1,413.3 | -0.6 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 540.2 | 541.6 | 0.3 | |
| Sheep, total | ('000 animals) | 1,021.6 | 1,001.2 | -2.0 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 20.5 | 20.0 | -2.5 | |
| of which: | ||||
| Lambs | ('000 animals) | 890.4 | 884.3 | -0.7 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 16.5 | 16.4 | -0.8 | |
| Other sheep | ('000 animals) | 131.3 | 116.9 | -10.9 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 4.0 | 3.6 | -9.7 | |
| Goats | ('000 animals) | 24.6 | 21.3 | -13.6 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 0.4 | 0.4 | -13.6 | |
| Horses | ('000 animals) | 11.8 | 10.3 | -12.8 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 3.1 | 2.7 | -12.8 | |
| All red meat | ('000 tonnes) | 6,618.9 | 6,626.1 | 0.1 |
| Poultry, total | ('000 animals) | 691,627.2 | 701,802.0 | 1.5 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 1,427.7 | 1,456.5 | 2.0 | |
| of which: | ||||
| Broilers | ('000 animals) | 596,050.7 | 613,370.2 | 2.9 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 863.5 | 910.2 | 5.4 | |
| Ducks | ('000 animals) | 25,456.2 | 19,759.2 | -22.4 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 57.6 | 44.8 | -22.2 | |
| Turkeys | ('000 animals) | 37,692.0 | 36,689.3 | -2.7 |
| ('000 tonnes) | 464.2 | 458.1 | -1.3 | |
| TOTAL MEAT | ('000 tonnes) | 8,046.7 | 8,082.6 | 0.4 |
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