In the fourth quarter of 2015, meat production and producer value decreased by 8.2 and 11.9 per cent respectively over the same quarter in 2014, the National Statistics Office said today.
Meat production in the fourth quarter of 2015 amounted to 2,633 tonnes, down by 8.2 per cent over 2014. This was due to drops of 15.0 and 0.5 per cent in the production of pigmeat and broiler meat respectively. This was partially offset by an increase of 4.0 per cent in the production of beef (Table 2).
Lower pigmeat production resulted from a 14.3 per cent drop in the number of slaughtered pigs. Slaughtered broilers decreased by 37,334 heads, leading to a drop in the production of broiler meat, despite an increase of 6.2 per cent in the average carcass weight. The increase in beef production was due to a 4.5 per cent rise in the number of slaughtered cattle.
The producer value of animals slaughtered at licensed slaughterhouses amounted to €5.5 million, 11.9 per cent less when compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. This was a consequence of decreases in the producer value recorded for pigmeat, beef and broiler meat by 18.2, 4.1 and 1.4 per cent respectively.