Between January and December 2022, Cattle slaughterings rose by 6.7% when compared with the same period in 2021.
Sheep slaughterings grew by 7.7% between January and December 2022 when compared with the same period in 2021.
The number of Pigs slaughtered decreased by 1.5% between January and December 2022 when compared with the same period in 2021.
An analysis of the data for December 2022 compared with December 2021 shows that Cattle slaughterings increased by 0.6%.
The number of Sheep slaughtered grew by 8.9% in December 2022 compared with December 2021.
Pig slaughterings fell by 6.0% in December 2022 compared with December 2021.
Table 1.1 presents analysis on month versus month and year-to-date comparisons of the current year and the previous year's livestock slaughterings. Figure 1.1 shows year-to-date trends of livestock slaughterings from 2020 to 2022.
| Table 1.1: Livestock Slaughterings - December 2022 | |||
| Cattle | Sheep | Pigs | |
| '000 heads | |||
| December 2021 | 141.1 | 252.1 | 299.1 |
| December 2022 | 142.0 | 274.6 | 281.1 |
| % change | |||
| December 2022/2021 | 0.6% | 8.9% | -6.0% |
| Jan-Dec 2022/2021 | 6.7% | 7.7% | -1.5% |
| X-axis label | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle | 1881.887 | 1792.141 | 1911.914 |
| Sheep | 3111.674 | 2971.807 | 3199.236 |
| Pigs | 3546.354 | 3689.792 | 3635.615 |
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Statistician's Comment
Commenting on the release, Mairead Griffin, Statistician in the Agriculture Accounts & Production Section, said: "Cattle slaughterings increased by 0.6% in December 2022 when compared with December 2021. Over that same period, the number of Sheep slaughtered rose by 8.9% while the number of Pigs slaughtered decreased by 6.0%. Further analysis of the data shows that between January and December 2022, slaughterings for Cattle and Sheep grew by 6.7% and 7.7% respectively while Pig slaughterings fell by 1.5%."