Fewer pigs in holdings but more for breeding

There has been a downward trend in the pig population for the second successive year, the National Office of Statistics said yesterday.

It said that a postal census to determine the pig population by category was carried out late in 2003, with a census date being December 1, 2003.

Data were collected to establish the stocks in the different categories of the pig population. The response rate was 94 per cent.

The NSO said that a total population of 73,067 pigs was recorded in 160 holdings. There was a drop of 5,236 pigs (-6.7 per cent) from 78,303 pigs recorded a year earlier.

While the number of piglets declined by 2.9 per cent, the number of young pigs and pigs used for breeding purposes increased by 0.8 per cent and five per cent respectively.

On a regional level, 68,022 of all pigs (93.1 per cent) were found in Malta, mainly (36 per cent) in the west of the island. The remaining 6.9 per cent were found on Gozo and Comino.

The pig stocks in Malta declined by 5,525 heads (-7.5 per cent) from 73,547 heads recorded in December 2002 to 68,022 last December.

On a regional level, the size structure of pig holdings was quite similar. A total of 50,395 pigs (74.1 per cent) in Malta were found on 58 holdings.

These holdings represented 39.7 per cent of the total holdings in Malta and, on average, such holdings have 400 or more pigs. In Gozo, 28.6 per cent of the pig holdings accounted for 62.5 per cent of all pigs. These holdings had, on average, 400 or more pigs.