Meat production down by 9%

Compared to the corresponding quarter last year, meat production declined by 9 per cent to 2,915 tonnes. This was brought about by drops in the production of beef, pigmeat and broilermeat, which fell by 23.8, 2.4 and 15.7 per cent respectively.

The declines in beef, pigmeat and broilermeat production were due to lower numbers of slaughtered cattle, pigs and broilers, by 28.5, 1.4 and 15.6 per cent respectively. The average carcass weight of pigs and broilers went down by 1.0 and 0.1 per cent respectively. Conversely, the average carcass weight of cattle increased by 6.6 per cent.

Producer Value

The producer value of animals slaughtered at licensed slaughterhouses in the period under review amounted to €5.6 million, €0.3 million less (-5.6 per cent) when compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

The producer value of slaughtered cattle went down by 9.3 per cent on account of a 28.5 per cent drop in the number of slaughtered cattle, although the average price per kilogram fetched on the market rose by 18.9 per cent from €2.64 per kilogram in 2010 to €3.14 in 2011.

The producer value of pigmeat registered a drop of 2.4 per cent due to a lower average carcass weight, while the average price per kilogram remained at par with the comparative period in 2010. Reflecting the decrease in the number of slaughtered broilers, the producer value of broilermeat registered a 9.4 per cent drop. The average price per kilogram advanced by 7.4 per cent from €1.74 in the third quarter of 2010 to €1.87 in the corresponding quarter this year.