Closure in Perleberg
Published 2 days ago in News

Closure in Perleberg

The shutdown of the Perleberg slaughterhouse raises concerns among eastern German pig farmers about longer transport routes, higher costs, and increased market dominance by Tönnies.

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Martina Osmak
Director of Marketing

Perleberg Slaughterhouse to Shut Down

The slaughterhouse in Perleberg, Brandenburg, is set to close permanently. For many farms in eastern Germany, this location was one of the final remaining regional options for processing pigs. The facility had been working below capacity for years, and its closure means the loss of roughly 20,000 slaughter spaces per week.

Declining Operations Before the Decision

  • The site already reduced its processing volumes significantly in recent years.

  • Some farmers had begun shifting their animals to other buyers.

  • The company had moved away from full processing, focusing mainly on slaughtering and selling carcasses.

Tönnies as the Remaining Major Operator

After the closure, the large Tönnies plant in Weißenfels (Saxony-Anhalt) will be the only major pig slaughtering site left in eastern Germany.

Farmer representatives see a risk of:

  • Fewer market choices

  • Greater dependence on one buyer

  • Possible pressure on future pricing

Impact on Farmers and Transport Routes

Farmers who previously delivered to Perleberg now must transport animals over longer distances, sometimes more than 250 to 350 kilometers.

This leads to:

  • Higher fuel and logistics costs

  • More time spent on the road

  • Challenges for maintaining animal welfare during transport

Extra costs of 5 to 10 euros per pig are considered realistic. Since many farmers currently earn only small profit margins per animal, this added cost may be difficult to absorb.

Capacity Questions and Potential Bottlenecks

It is not yet clear whether the remaining slaughterhouses can take on all of Perleberg’s former volume.
Increasing capacity would require:

  • More work shifts

  • Additional staff, which may be hard to recruit

Industry groups warn that, if adjustments are not made, backlogs in pig deliveries could occur.

Outlook

Farmers and industry organizations are now watching how capacity, pricing, and logistics develop in the coming months. The closure represents not only an economic shift, but also a change in how agricultural value is distributed across the region.

Source: https://www.agrarheute.com/tier/schwein/schlachthof-perleberg-hat-toennies-monopol-osten-637395