Efficiency in swine production in European countries. Cases of Denmark and Poland

Pork is the second type of meat produced in the world, with Europe being the second most important Region after Asia. Within the European pork meat market, Denmark and Poland are two relevant players with some differences in their production systems (PS). The objective of this research was to study the variables that explain the behavior of pig meat production and the relative technical efficiency of the PS, taking into account the differences in the systems. Stochastic production frontier models of the Translog type were used for samples of swine producers in the period 2010-2015. The results indicate that the samples of producers from both Countries present high levels of efficiency, with values of 0.899 and 0.859 for Denmark and Poland, respectively. The most important factors that explain pig production are food and capital. In addition, Poland presents significant technological growth in the period without changes in efficiency, while Denmark does not present significant technological progress and a decrease in relative technical efficiency in the period.