The cattle population in December 2007 amounted to 19,442 heads, an increase of 1.1 per cent over the comparative period in 2006. 394 holdings were engaged in the cattle industry, of which 149 were oriented to the production of milk.

When compared to the same period last year, bovines less than 1 year and those between 1 and 2 years registered a decrease of 1.2 per cent and 2.7 per cent respectively. On the other hand, dairy cows being the most important bovine with 38.8 per cent of the total cattle stock, registered a slight increase by 0.7 per cent, from 7,494 heads in 2006 to 7,545 heads in 2007. Dairy farms remained the dominant farms with cattle. Infact, 88.3 per cent or 17,159 cattle were situated on farms mainly focused on the production of milk.

Of all the cattle farms, 47.0 per cent have a herd size ranging from 3 to 29 cattle on the holding. These farms had a total of 1,899 cattle or 9.8 per cent of all cattle. On the other hand, 17.3 per cent of all cattle farms were considered large with more than 100 cattle on the holding. These holdings had a total of 13,207 heads or 67.9 per cent of the total cattle stock. 78.5 per cent of all farms with a herd size ranging from 3 to 29 cattle rear cattle for meat. The total amount of cattle on the non-dairy farms within this range amounted to 1,551 or 81.7 per cent of all cattle within this herdsize. On the other hand, all farms with a herd size of 100 or more cattle are dairy producers.

On a regional level, 13,166 cattle (67.7 per cent) were found on Maltese farms, of which 39.8 per cent were found in the South Eastern District. The remaining 6,276 heads (32.3 per cent) were found on farms in Gozo and Comino. Over the comparative period, cattle in the island of Malta rose marginally by 0.3 per cent, while cattle on Gozo and Comino registered an increase of 2.7 per cent.

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