Decline in meat volumes, but 10.6% increase in producer value

In the first quarter this year, meat production in volume terms declined by 3.4 per cent while the producer value rose by 10.6 per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

Meat production in the first quarter amounted to 2,708 tonnes, down by 3.4 per cent over the comparative period last year. An increase of 10.7 per cent in the production of beef was completely offset by a decline of 8.6 per cent in the production of pigmeat, while broiler meat declined marginally by 0.3 per cent.

The increase in beef production resulted from a 7.7 per cent rise in the number of slaughtered cattle and a 2.8 per cent increase in the average carcass weight. In contrast, the number of slaughtered broilers fell by 6.8 per cent, in spite of an increase of 6.9 per cent in the average carcass weight. Pigmeat production dropped by 8.6 per cent as a result of a 3.7 per cent decline in the number of slaughtered pigs and a drop in the average carcass weight of 5.1 per cent.

The producer value of animals slaughtered at licensed slaughterhouses in the period under review amounted to €6.1 million, or 10.6 per cent more when compared to the first quarter of 2012, as farmers fetched better prices for slaughtered animals on the market.