Soil frosts in the first days of spring, while pig purchase prices continue to fall
2022. March 15.We have very cold days in the first days of March, but things slowly improve towards the end of the month.
Meanwhile, the pig sector is not in a good situation either, with a drastic fall in purchase prices.
How many animals were slaughtered in Hungary in 2021?
As it is mandatory for EU Member States to compile a monthly list of the number and weight of animals slaughtered in slaughterhouses, it is easy to see what happened in Hungary in this area in 2021.
Cattle
In 2021, 109,300 cattle were slaughtered, an increase of 3.4% compared to the previous year.
The live weight of the slaughtered livestock is 56300 tonnes and the carcass weight is 28900 tonnes.
Live weight was 2.5% higher and carcass weight 3.1% higher than a year earlier.
Of the cattle slaughtered, 62% were cows and 20% bulls.
Hungary imported more than 11.5 thousand tonnes of live cattle in the first 11 months of 2021, in addition to nearly 70 thousand tonnes of exports, according to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office.
Exports rose by 22% in the first half of 2020, while imports fell by 3%.
According to official data, the total number of cattle in 2021.
The official data for 2021 was 902100 head.
This number decreased by 30800 in 2020.
December 2020, and by 29500 animals in 2021.
since June.
2021.
on the first day of December 2021, the number of dairy cows was 420,000, an increase of 6.4 thousand compared to the same period last year.
Pigs
In 2021, pig slaughtering in Hungarian slaughterhouses increased by 3.6%.
The total weight of animals slaughtered (live weight) was 575 thousand tonnes, and the total carcass weight was 462 thousand tonnes.
In terms of live pig slaughtering, the slaughtering of sows increased significantly by 17.4% from 75600 in the previous year to 88700 in 2021.
Exports of live pigs fell by 8.8% in the first half of 2021, while imports fell by 3.3% compared to last year.
As for the export-import ratio, imports more than doubled, with live pigs coming mainly from Germany, Croatia and Slovakia, and exports to Austria, the Netherlands and Romania.
Sheep
According to the surveys, the number of sheep slaughtered in 2021 was just over 48,000, a fairly large increase of 26% compared to last year, and the total live weight of ewes slaughtered in the year was 287 tonnes. 
The existing sheep flock was 887,000 on 1 December, down six per cent on last year, and the number of ewes was 5,000 fewer than in June of the same year.
Poultry
Chickens accounted for the bulk of the poultry stock, almost 80 percent, of which nearly 186 million were slaughtered, up 2.5 percent compared to 2020.
Among poultry, turkeys accounted for 2.8 percent and ducks for 14.5 percent.
More than 7.5 percent fewer turkeys went to slaughter compared to 2020.
Live pig prices down 60 percent in a year
According to the latest figures, in one year the price of live pigs has fallen to 60% of its previous level.
This is mainly due to the fact that by 2021.
Between November and December 2021, the Chinese population was busy preparing for their spring festivals, which led to a much higher volume of pork purchases.
Because of the purchases then, demand now has fallen to about zero, so China is currently allowing as little pork imports into the country as possible, and at negligible prices.
It therefore seems that the pig industry is once again under threat, despite the many tendering opportunities, for example in Hungary.
If the Chinese continue to do without pork for even longer, this could lead to a further fall in prices, which could mean a big loss for farmers.
March arrives with hard minus temperatures
Spring 2022 will start with cold weather, with the possibility of small snow showers in places.
In addition, strong northerly and north-easterly wind gusts will make it more difficult for farmers to start the spring season.
The cloudy spell at the start of the month will change to clearer skies after 10 March, but frosts will still be with us.
Typical night-time temperatures will be between minus 3 and minus 10 degrees Celsius and we will have to wait until the east of March for the night frosts to break.
Days will get steadily warmer from the beginning of the month, with temperatures rarely rising above 6-7 degrees Celsius at the start of March, but by mid-month we can expect 15-16 degrees.
Wind gusts will gradually fade away, so that they are not to be expected in the second half of the month.
April will also arrive with clear to moderately cloudy days, with continued seasonal warming.
As we move further into the winter, the chances of night frosts are greatly reduced and temperatures remain persistently in the plus range.
The days will be even better, with temperatures of up to 20 degrees giving us every opportunity to get our spring work done and get ready for summer.