The number of cattle slaughtered in Ireland in 2021 was 4.8% lower in 2021 compared to 2020, according to data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The number of cattle slaughtered here in the period January to December of last year was around 1,792,500 head, a decrease of almost 90,000 head on the 1,881,900 head slaughtered in 2020.
Looking at the details for other sectors, the number of sheep slaughtered in 2021 decreased by 4.4% compared to the 2020 figure.
2,975,500 head of sheep were slaughtered in 2021, a decrease of around 136,00 head on the 3,111,700 head figure for 2020.
For pigs, the number of animals slaughtered increased by 4%, amounting to some 3,690,000 head, an increase of about 144,000 head on the 3,546,000 head in 2020.
Looking at the figures for December 2021 alone, and comparing them to the same month of 2020, cattle slaughterings were down 2.3%; the number of sheep slaughtered grew marginally by 0.4%; and pig slaughterings increased by 3.3%.
Weekly cattle throughput edges upwards
In the latest figures for cattle throughput in Ireland, last week (the week commencing Monday, January 24) throughput saw a marginal increase when compared to both figures from the week prior and those of the same week last year (2021).
A total of 33,926 head of cattle (including veal) was processed in the third week of January. This figure is up by almost 1,500 head on the week prior and up by over 2,500 head from the 31,384 head of cattle processed in the same week last year, according to figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
While last week’s throughput may have seen an increase, the cumulative beef kill to date this year is still over 3,000 head behind the same time frame last year.
Week-on-week beef kill changes:
- Young bulls: 4,279 head (+324 head);
- Bulls: 262 head (-50 head);
- Steers: 11,592 head (+419 head);
- Cows: 7,055 head (+734 head);
- Heifers: 10,706 head (+86 head);
- Total: (including veal): 33,926 head (+1,491 head).
Looking at the above figures, we see the number of cows processed last week increased by over 700, while steer and young bull throughput noticeably increased too.