The number of pigs slaughtered between January and August 2023 is down by 9.7% when compared to the same period last year, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has said.
Last month, pig slaughterings in Ireland were 4.2% lower than during August last year, latest CSO figures published today (Tuesday, September 26), show.
In total, 287,720 pigs were slaughtered last month, which leads to a total of over 2.2 million head slaughtered in the first eight months this year.
Cattle and sheep slaughterings
Meanwhile, cattle slaughterings decreased by 2.7% between January and August 2023 compared to last year, and fell by 3.1% in August alone.
A total of 161,429 cattle were slaughtered last month, compared to 166,500 in August 2022. Across the entire eight-month period in 2023, this totals to over 1.2 million head.
These figures include slaughterings at meat establishments approved by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), and slaughterhouses and meat plants approved by local authorities.
Sheep slaughterings rose slightly by 0.7% over the first eight months of the year. However, the number of sheep slaughtered last month was 7.0% below its 2022 level.
In total, 277,781 sheep were slaughtered last month. CSO analysis shows that sheep slaughterings have almost reached 2.1 million head this year up until August.
Year-to-date findings show that cattle slaughterings dropped by 33,858 head, while sheep slaughterings rose by 14,079 head and pig slaughterings fell by 237,304 head.
The number of cattle slaughtered was down by 5,120 head last month. Sheep and pig slaughterings dropped by 20,893 head and 12,619 head compared to August 2022.