Meat production in Germany declined in the first half of 2026, driven by a sharp drop in poultry production, official figures showed on Friday.
Commercial slaughterhouses produced just under 3.4 million metric tons of meat during the six-month period, according to preliminary figures from the Federal Statistical Office.
That was down 0.7%, or 24,200 tons, from the first half of last year.
The decline was particularly pronounced for poultry, with production falling by 3.2% year-on-year to 755,000 tons. The figure was the lowest for a first half of the year since 2017.
Beef production declined by 0.1%, while pork production remained virtually unchanged.
Pork continued to dominate German meat production, accounting for 63.6% of the total.
Some 21.7 million pigs were slaughtered in Germany during the first half of the year, along with 1.4 million cattle and 343.2 million poultry.
Sheep, goats and horses together accounted for just 0.3% of total meat production.