In the first quarter this year, meat production and the producer value declined by 11.5 and 8.5 per cent respectively when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2011.

Meat production in the first quarter amounted to 2,810 tonnes, a drop of 11.5 per cent over the comparative period last year. An increase of 5.6 per cent in the production of broiler meat was mitigated by declines of 16.3 and 20.5 per cent in the production of beef and pig meat respectively.

These were brought about by a decline in the number of slaughtered cattle and pigs, by 15.6 and 13.4 per cent respectively. On the other hand, the number of slaughtered broilers rose by 6.0 per cent.

During the period under review, the producer value of animals slaughtered at licensed slaughterhouses declined by €0.5 million (-8.5 per cent) to €5.5 million, when compared to the corresponding period in 2011.

This was due to a decline in the producer value of beef slaughtered and pigs by 2.2 and 16.1 per cent respectively. On the other hand, an increase of 1.3 per cent was registered in the producer value of slaughtered broilers.

During the period under review, the average carcass weight of slaughtered cattle, pigs and broilers declined by 0.8, 8.3 and 0.4 per cent respectively.

These figures are supplied by the National Statistics Office.

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