Overview
- Agriculture Minister Hanka Mittelstädt calls for rebuilding slaughter capacity in the state and reports interest from farm companies in a joint project that could include a new greenfield plant.
- She cautions the effort will not be immediate and describes developing a concrete concept as the next step.
- The government is working with companies on contingency plans to ensure rapid slaughter options during animal-disease outbreaks.
- The Perleberg facility, previously able to process up to 20,000 pigs per week, has closed, shifting animals to Weißenfels in Saxony-Anhalt or to foreign plants and lengthening routes.
- Mittelstädt highlights a federal funding initiative for mid-sized slaughterhouses as a key lever to help rebuild regional capacity.