CSO - Central Statistics Office Ireland

28/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 28/08/2024 09:23

Livestock Slaughterings July 2024

The number of Pigs slaughtered in July 2024 rose by 12.7% when compared with July 2023

Online ISSN: 2009-5651
CSO statistical publication, 28 August 2024, 11am

Key Findings

  • Between January and July 2024, Cattle slaughterings increased by 1.6% when compared with the same period in 2023.

  • In the first seven months of the year, Sheep slaughterings decreased by 8.5% on the same period in 2023.

  • The number of Pigs slaughtered in the year to July 2024 rose by 0.5% when compared with the same seven months in 2023.

  • An analysis of the data for July 2024 compared with July 2023 shows that Cattle slaughterings grew by 8.5%.

  • The number of Sheep slaughtered fell by 0.3% in July 2024 when compared with the same month in 2023.

  • Pig slaughterings increased by 12.7% in July 2024 when compared with July 2023.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (28 August 2024) released Livestock Slaughterings July 2024.

Commenting on the release, Mairead Griffin, Statistician in the Agriculture Accounts & Production Section, said: "Cattle slaughterings rose by 8.5% to approximately 157,000 heads in July 2024 when compared with July 2023. During the same period, the number of Sheep slaughtered contracted by 0.3% to 248,000 heads, while Pig slaughterings grew by 12.7% to almost 295,000 heads.

Further analysis of the data shows that between January and July 2024, Cattle slaughterings increased by 1.6% to almost 1.1m heads while the number of Sheep slaughtered declined by 8.5% to approximately 1.6m heads. Pig slaughterings rose by 0.5% to more than 1.9m heads over the same seven-month period."

Main Results

Table 1.1: Livestock Slaughterings - July 2024
Cattle Sheep Pigs
'000 heads
Jul 2023 144.3 248.8 261.8
Jul 2024 156.6 248.0 295.0
% change
Jul 2024/2023 8.5% -0.3% 12.7%
Jan-Jul 2024/2023 1.6% -8.5% 0.5%

Year-to-Date findings: January 2024 to July 2024

Cattle slaughterings in the year to July 2024 are estimated to be approximately 1.1m heads, an increase of more than 17,000 heads (+1.6%) when compared with the same period in 2023.

During the same period in 2024, Sheep slaughterings decreased by more than 152,000 heads (-8.5%) to more than 1.6m heads when compared with the same seven months in 2023.

Pig slaughterings are estimated to be approximately 1.9m heads for January to July 2024, an increase of more than 9,000 heads (+0.5%) on the same period in 2023.

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Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Chart context menuSource: CSO IrelandCattleSheepPigsHighcharts.comFigure 1.1: January-July Slaughterings
2022
2023
2024
01k2k3k
'000 heads
X-axis label 2022 2023 2024
Cattle 1085.077 1056.358 1073.451
Sheep 1750.3214 1785.646 1633.328
Pigs 2149.202 1924.553 1933.967

Monthly findings: July 2024

The number of Cattle slaughtered in July 2024 grew by approximately 12,000 heads (+8.5%) to almost 157,000 heads when compared with July 2023.

Sheep slaughterings in July 2024 were approximately 248,000 heads, down by nearly 1,000 heads (-0.3%) when compared with the same month in 2023.

The number of Pigs slaughtered in July 2024 increased by more than 33,000 heads (+12.7%) to almost 295,000 heads when compared with July 2023.

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Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Chart context menuSource: CSO IrelandJan 2023Feb 2023Mar 2023Apr 2023May 2023Jun 2023Jul 2023Aug 2023Sep 2023Oct 2023Nov 2023Dec 2023Jan 2024Feb 2024Mar 2024Apr 2024May 2024Jun 2024JuL 2024Highcharts.comFigure 1.2: Monthly Slaughterings, 2023-2024
Cattle
Sheep
Pigs
0100200300400
'000 heads
X-axis label Cattle Sheep Pigs
Jan 2023 153.475 252.711 296.318
Feb 2023 156.219 222.126 255.189
Mar 2023 165.328 286.653 298.182
Apr 2023 134.284 249.349 250.594
May 2023 153.832 250.324 288.265
Jun 2023 148.922 275.714 274.184
Jul 2023 144.298 248.769 261.821
Aug 2023 162.138 281.767 287.852
Sep 2023 152.644 273.86 264.895
Oct 2023 174.86 277.641 271.642
Nov 2023 181.631 293.386 307.246
Dec 2023 142.859 256.257 255.717
Jan 2024 166.064 259.978 298.046
Feb 2024 164.074 217.306 264.223
Mar 2024 153.142 272.044 273.695
Apr 2024 155.003 200.527 273.185
May 2024 150.906 213.815 285.49
Jun 2024 127.633 221.617 244.355
JuL 2024 156.629 248.041 294.973
Table 1.2: Livestock Slaughterings July 2024
Table 1.2: Livestock Slaughterings July 2024
Category Year Unit Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 3
Cattle 2022 '000 heads 143.9 159.3 173.4 161.2 154.8 144.6 148.0 166.5 171.0 167.8 180.0 141.2 1,911.6
2023 153.5 156.2 165.3 134.3 153.8 148.9 144.3 162.1 152.6 174.9 181.6 142.9 1,870.5
2024 166.1 164.1 153.1 155.0 150.9 127.6 ² 156.6 1,073.5
Sheep 2022 '000 heads 226.9 234.5 252.0 265.8 236.3 253.0 281.8 298.7 311.5 276.4 288.9 271.3 3,197.1
2023 252.7 222.1 286.7 249.3 250.3 275.7 248.8 281.8 273.9 277.6 293.4 256.3 3,168.6
2024 260.0 217.3 272.0 ² 200.5 213.8 221.6 ² 248.0 1,633.3
Pigs 2022 '000 heads 295.9 304.0 324.7 312.1 320.5 301.7 290.4 300.3 301.2 280.9 322.9 281.0 3,635.5
2023 296.3 255.2 298.2 250.6 288.3 274.2 261.8 287.9 264.9 271.6 307.2 255.7 3,311.9
2024 298.0 264.2 273.7 273.2 285.5 244.4 295.0 1,934.0
Cattle 2022 '000 tonnes1 47.4 49.7 53.4 51.8 50.8 48.2 49.3 56.0 57.6 55.4 57.1 44.7 621.4
2023 49.5 47.9 49.6 42.7 51.0 49.3 47.3 53.5 50.3 56.7 57.1 44.7 599.5
2024 52.8 51.5 46.7 48.9 48.8 41.2 ² 50.1 340.0
Sheep 2022 '000 tonnes1 5.0 5.3 5.7 5.9 5.0 5.3 5.7 6.2 6.5 5.8 6.1 5.7 68.2
2023 5.7 5.0 6.4 5.6 5.6 6.0 5.3 6.1 6.0 6.1 6.4 5.6 69.7
2024 5.8 4.9 6.0 4.5 4.8 4.8 5.3 36.2
Pigs 2022 '000 tonnes1 28.0 28.7 30.1 29.4 30.2 27.2 25.5 26.3 27.2 25.3 29.4 25.2 332.6
2023 27.3 23.4 27.3 22.8 26.2 24.5 23.3 25.8 23.7 24.6 28.2 23.2 300.3
2024 28.0 24.7 25.4 25.4 26.5 22.7 27.4 180.1
1 Carcass weight
2 Revised
3 Totals may not equal the sum of the categories due to rounding differences.