Fewer animals in pig and cow farms in Romania
Romania recorded a decline in the number of pigs and cattle last year compared to 2021, by 7.8% and 0.7% respectively, while the number of sheep and goats increased by 1% and the number of poultry by 1.5%, data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) show.
Thus, the total number of cattle and the breeding herd (dairy cows, breeding buffaloes and breeding heifers) on 1 December 2022 compared to 1 December 2021 decreased by 0.7%. On 1 December 2022, Romania had 1.814 million heads of cattle, compared to 1.826 million a year ago.
Cattle herds decreased continuously from 2006 to 2011 when they reached 1.988 million heads, while from 2011 to 2022 they remained at a relatively constant level representing. In 2022, the cattle herd was 61.8% of the 2006 stock.
According to INS data, Romania ranked tenth in the European Union in terms of cattle herds, after France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria. In terms of density per 100 ha of land, our country ranked 21st, followed by Bulgaria.
In terms of the total number of pigs and the breeding herd (sows), it decreased by 7.8% and 4.9% respectively. On 1 December 2022 there were a total of 3.3 million pigs (compared to 3.6 million head a year ago), of which the breeding herd comprised 284,000 heads, compared to 298,500 heads on 1 December 2021.
The statistics show a continuous decrease in the number of pigs, in 2022 the herd being 49% of the 2006 level. Romania ranked ninth in the European Union, after Spain, Germany, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy and Belgium, in terms of pig herds, and in terms of density per 100 ha of land, our country ranked 19th, followed by Slovakia, Lithuania and Bulgaria.
On the other hand, the total number of sheep and goats as well as the breeding herd (ewes, ewe lambs and she-goats) increased by 1% and 1.2% respectively during the period under review. Sheep and goat numbers followed a fluctuating trend, reaching a level of 11.692 million heads in 2022, i.e. 39.1% more than in 2006. In terms of sheep and goat herds, Romania ranked second after Spain. In terms of density per 100 ha of land, our country ranked second after Greece.
In terms of the total number of poultry, it increased by 1.5% in 2022 compared to 2021, while the number of adult laying birds decreased by 0.5%. On 1 December 2022, Romania had 78.3 million birds (77.1 million on 1 December 2021), of which 41.8 million adult laying birds (42 million heads on 1 December 2021).
For many years now the Romanian Government has planned to achieve a sustainable intensification of livestock farming, in the attempt to make the country more independent from imports. Figures show however that the sector continued to shrink over the last years.