Market Morsel: Here piggy, piggy, piggy

Livestock | 29th June 2021 | By Matt Dalgleish

Market Morsel

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data demonstrate a relatively even distribution of pigs across the mainland states. Queensland holds the nation’s largest pig herd at just over 607,000 head or nearly 27% of the total Australian herd. Victoria sits in second position with nearly 543,000 head and representing 24% of the national pig herd. Meanwhile, Tasmania holds the smallest herd at just under 10,000 head or 0.4% of the national herd, of which 98% are distributed in the northern regions of the island.

The distribution of the pig herd within Queensland is centred within three regions: Condamine, Burnett Mary and Queensland’s Murray Darling Basin. These three regions account for nearly 95% of the total pig herd within the state.

The Victorian pig herd is dominated by the North Central region with more than half of the pig population residing in this region. The top three regions for pig numbers in Victoria are North Central, Goulburn Broken and Corangamite which hold nearly 82% of the state’s pigs.

New South Wales holds around 435,000 pigs, or just over 19% of the national herd. The distribution of pigs across NSW is dominated by the regions of Murray and Riverina. Combined, these two areas contain approximately 91% of the pig tally in NSW.

There are nearly 323,000 pigs located within South Australia, this represents about 14% of the national pig herd. Within South Australia the top three regions of Murray Daring Basin, Northern & Yorke and the South-East contain nearly 90% of the pig population for the state.

The West Australian pig herd is estimated at nearly 340,000 head or around 15% of the national total. The distribution of pigs within the state is limited to three regions: Rangelands, Northern Agriculture and the Peel-Harvey area. The Rangelands region dominates the states pig herd distribution, accounting for nearly 60% of the state’s herd.

Tags

  • Pig
  • Supply and Demand