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FARMING

Number of pigs on Danish farms at 25-year low

The number of pigs bred and kept at farms in Denmark has dropped to its lowest level since 1998.

Published: 8 May 2023 17:48 CEST

Number of pigs on Danish farms at 25-year low

File photo of an organic pig farm in Denmark. The number of farm pigs in the country is at its lowest since 1998. Photo: Keld Navntoft/Ritzau Scanpix

In the first quarter of 2023, the number of pigs dropped by as much as 20 percent to around 2.2 million in Denmark, a country occasionally light-heartedly described as having “more pigs than humans”.

The current number of pigs is the lowest since 1998 and well under the human population of 5.8 million.

The count of pigs comes from national agency Statistics Denmark.

The news will come as little surprise to the agricultural sector, however, with meat producer Danish Crown having fired 800 staff from its slaughterhouse in the town of Sæby last month.

Inflation has made it increasingly difficult for Danish pig farmers to cover costs, the company has said.

As a result, many have closed their styes while others have sold their animals for export. Both factors have had knock-on effects at Danish Crown.

The chairman of the national association for pig farmers (Landsforeningen af Danske Svineproducenter), Jeppe Bloch Nielsen, said he was concerned more businesses would close in the near future.

“These figures reveal the consequence of Danish Crown not having been able to pay a competitive pork rate to farmers. This has meant that the production of pigs for slaughter has been loss-making for Danish farmers for a long period,” Nielsen told media Finans.

“In the rest of Europe, slaughterhouses pay higher prices for the pigs, which results in high prices for piglets in those countries. That is why Danish farmers choose to export piglets out of the country instead of raising them for slaughter in Denmark,” he said.

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Will Danish farming emissions tax mean more expensive meat?

Why is Denmark introducing an emissions tax on agriculture?

The government has announced an agreement with interest organisations for both agriculture and nature conservation, which is likely to see the introduction of a world-first CO2 emissions tax on farming.

The agreement, which has been months in the making, would make Denmark the first country in the world to impose an emissions tax on its agriculture sector.

Various groups have agreed that the agriculture industry will, from 2030, pay a tax of 300 kroner per ton on its CO2 emissions. The tax will rise to 750 kroner in 2035.

A Danish CO2 agriculture tax has long been the goal of the coalition government but has faced resistance from farmers and from some opposition parties, as well as from interest organisations for the sector.

With the agreement, Denmark can meet its target of a 70 percent reduction in emissions by 2030, Tax Minister Jeppe Bruus said at the briefing.

“This is the last political agreement needed for us to reach our 70 percent target in 2030. It’s a landmark,” he said.

A combination of a tax on livestock, reduction of fertiliser use, reforestation and extraction of carbon-rich low-lying soils will reduce emissions, the government says.

Its implementation is likely but not certain: Parliament has begun its summer recess, meaning the government, which has a wafer-thin majority, must wait until autumn to table the necessary bill to pass the agreement into law. It is expected to try to persuade opposition parties to back the deal to give it a stronger majority.

READ ALSO: Denmark announces agreement on landmark CO2 tax for agriculture

Will it affect the price of meat?

The short answer is ‘yes’, going by comments given by Minister for Economic Affairs Stephanie Lose to national broadcaster DR.

A price rise of 1 krone per packet of minced beef can be expected as a consequence of the agreement, Lose said.

That comes despite Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen saying during the 2022 general election campaign – when the CO2 tax was a prominent topic – that Danes should not pay extra for their shopping as a result of such a tax.

“A single mother with three children who play football makes spaghetti bolognese. I don’t want to place extra taxes on what I consider completely normal food products,” Frederiksen said at the time.

Lose said she was aware of the PM’s comments from two years ago but that the cost increase was a small price to pay for the landmark deal.

“In 2030, a packet of minced beef will cost 1 krone more for 500 grams in the supermarket,” the minister said to DR.

“I think that 1 krone reflects that we are now taking some huge decisions that will make a difference for Danish climate, for our nature and for our aquatic environments,” she said.

She also referred to tax cuts implemented by the current government which gave “completely normal Danes more cash in hand”.

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