Livestock slaughterings in Ireland increased by 0.5% to 1.157 million tonnes in 2019, according to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The 2019 supply of meat in Ireland is estimated at 1.449 million tonnes, a decrease of 17,500 tonnes (-1.2%) on 2018.
Imports decreased in 2019 from 315,000t in 2018 to 292,000t, a decrease of 7.5%.
Of the total available supply of meat, exports accounted for 1.008 million tonnes (69.6%) while the remaining 0.440 million tonnes were consumed domestically.
Gross indigenous production (GIP) i.e. livestock slaughterings plus live exports minus live imports, increased by 0.7%, from 1.205 million tonnes to 1.214 million tonnes.
Meat supply balance data
Beef and veal accounted for the largest percentage of live slaughterings in 2019, followed by pigmeat and poultry.
The figures for livestock slaughterings include those carried out at both meat establishments approved by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and slaughterhouses and meat plants approved by local authorities.
Poultry slaughtering figures are derived from data received from DAFM.
These include mainly human consumption both in households (retail) and services establishments such as restaurants and bars.
It is assumed that the amount of meat used for other purposes, such as animal feed and losses is negligible.
The total supply of meat consists of the meat available from livestock slaughterings and imports.
This supply may be used for exports, domestic uses or held in stock for future use.
Live exports and imports
Only exports of meat and meat products need to be accounted for as animals exported live do not constitute part of the supply.
Imports of live animals are also not accounted for separately as the imported live animals are slaughtered in the country and accounted for on the supply side as meat.