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.
| 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% |
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.
| 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 |
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.
| 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 |
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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."