Pig meat producer Danish Crown to close slaughterhouse

The pig meat producer committee at international food producer Danish Crown has recommended that its slaughterhouse in Esbjerg, Denmark be closed at the end of August this year.
At the same time, Danish Crown said it plans to invest in building up capacity at some of its other facilities in Denmark to ensure optimum capacity utilization. “We have seen a slight decline in the supply of pigs for slaughter to our Danish abattoirs and we are reacting accordingly," said the company’s production director Søren F. Eriksen. "Making difficult decisions such as this is part of being financially responsible. We monitor developments in the competitive situation on the global market closely, and if we are to retain slaughterhouse jobs in Denmark, where production costs are far higher than in our neighboring countries, we must ensure that our capacity is tailored accordingly and that we are continually optimizing and streamlining production."
The supply of pigs for slaughter has fallen by a few percent, so concurrently with the closure investments in capacity are being made at a number of other Danish Crown departments in Denmark, according to Eriksen.