Cattle slaughterings were down by 27.9% last month when compared with October 2024, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

Between January and October 2025, cattle slaughterings decreased by 10.9% when compared with the same period in 2024.

In the year to September 2025, cattle slaughterings are estimated to be 1.4 million head, a decrease of 172,000 head when compared to 2024.

CSO sheep kill figures

The number of sheep slaughtered declined by 19.6.% or 480,000 head to 2.0 million in the first 10 months of 2025, the CSO figures show.

The number of sheep slaughtered fell by 19.7% in October 2025 when compared with the same month in 2024.

The number of pigs slaughtered in the first 10 months of 2025 grew by 69,000 head or 2.5% to 2.9 million when compared with the same 10 months in 2024.

Pig slaughterings increased by 3.1% in October 2025 when compared with October 2024.

Beef prices

Meanwhile, this week's factory quotes have seen several outlets start the week off with the same price quote as last week for prime cattle while others have reduced their offer.

The factories that held their prime cattle price quote said they would review it mid-week and did not ruled out further price drops.

Cow price quotes have continued to decline at most outlets, with offers back 50c/kg in some cases since the end of October.