Between January and May 2024, Cattle slaughterings increased by 3.4% when compared with the same period in 2023.
In the first five months of the year, Sheep slaughterings decreased by 7.9% on the same period in 2023.
The number of Pigs slaughtered in the year to May 2024 rose by 0.4% when compared with the same five months in 2023.
An analysis of the data for May 2024 compared with May 2023 shows that Cattle slaughterings fell by 1.9%.
The number of Sheep slaughtered contracted by 15.7% in May 2024 when compared with the same month in 2023.
Pig slaughterings declined by 1% in May 2024 when compared with May 2023.
| Table 1.1: Livestock Slaughterings - May 2024 | |||
| Cattle | Sheep | Pigs | |
| '000 heads | |||
| May 2023 | 153.8 | 250.3 | 288.3 |
| May 2024 | 151.0 | 210.9 | 285.5 |
| % change | |||
| May 2024/2023 | -1.9% | -15.7% | -1.0% |
| Jan-May 2024/2023 | 3.4% | -7.9% | 0.4% |
Cattle slaughterings in the year to May 2024 are estimated to be over 789,000 heads, an increase of more than 26,000 heads (+3.4%) when compared with the same period in 2023.
During the same period in 2024, Sheep slaughterings declined by almost 100,000 heads (-7.9%) to nearly 1.2m heads when compared with the same five months in 2023.
Pig slaughterings are estimated to be approximately 1.4m heads for January to May 2024, up over 6,000 heads (+0.4%) on the same period in 2023.
| X-axis label | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle | 792.516 | 763.138 | 789.15 |
| Sheep | 1215.4716 | 1261.163 | 1161.254 |
| Pigs | 1557.161 | 1388.548 | 1394.667 |
The number of Cattle slaughtered in May 2024 dropped by almost 3,000 heads (-1.9%) to nearly 151,000 heads when compared with May 2023.
Sheep slaughterings in May 2024 were approximately 211,000 heads, down by over 39,000 heads (-15.7%) when compared with the same month in 2023.
The number of Pigs slaughtered in May 2024 decreased by nearly 3,000 heads (-1%) to approximately 286,000 heads when compared with May 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 | 166.042 | 259.94 | 298.038 |
| Feb 2024 | 164.06 | 217.373 | 264.22 |
| Mar 2024 | 153.128 | 272.114 | 273.696 |
| Apr 2024 | 154.953 | 200.88 | 273.191 |
| May 2024 | 150.967 | 210.947 | 285.522 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (26 June 2024) released Livestock Slaughterings May 2024.
Commenting on the release, Mairead Griffin, Statistician in the Agriculture Accounts & Production Section, said: "Cattle slaughterings dropped by 1.9% to almost 151,000 heads in May 2024 when compared with May 2023. During the same period, the number of Sheep slaughtered decreased by 15.7% to approximately 211,000 heads, while Pig slaughterings fell by 1% to nearly 286,000 heads.
Further analysis of the data shows that between January and May 2024, Cattle slaughterings grew by 3.4% to over 789,000 heads while the number of Sheep slaughtered contracted by 7.9% to approximately 1.2m heads. Pig slaughterings increased by 0.4% to almost 1.4m heads over the same five-month period."