The supply of Total Meat grew by 17,000 tonnes (+1%) to 1.45 million tonnes in 2024. Beef & Veal accounted for 642,000 tonnes (44%) of supply, followed by Pig Meat at 393,000 tonnes (27%), and Poultry at 351,000 tonnes (24%). Sheep Meat accounted for the remaining 67,000 tonnes (5%).
In 2024 the total volume of slaughterings rose by 22,000 tonnes (+2%) despite slaughtering of Sheep Meat falling by 7,000 tonnes (-10%). Poultry (+14,000 tonnes, +8%) and Pig Meat (+11,000 tonnes, +4%) were the main drivers of this growth.
The volume of net exports (i.e. exports less imports) of Total Meat grew by 7,000 tonnes (+1%) to 632,000 tonnes. The net export of Pig Meat grew by 13,000 tonnes (+10%) while Beef & Veal was up by 3,000 tonnes (+1%). Some of this growth was negated by a drop in the volume of net exports of Sheep Meat (-6,000 tonnes, -11%) and Poultry (-3,000 tonnes, -4%).
Ireland’s self-sufficiency rate for Total Meat increased from 230% to 233% in 2024. The self-sufficiency rate went up for all categories of meat except for Sheep Meat, which fell from 405% to 385%.
The annual per capita human consumption of Total Meat increased by 1% to 100kg in 2024. Per capita consumption of Poultry Meat grew by 2kgs (+5%) to 49kgs while the per capita consumption of all other meats fell.
In 2024, the total supply of meat in Ireland was estimated at 1.45 million tonnes, an increase of 17,000 tonnes (+1%) on the previous year. Of the available supply, Beef & Veal accounted for 44%, Pig Meat 27%, and Poultry 24%. The remaining 5% came from Sheep Meat.
The volume of slaughterings grew by 22,000 tonnes (+2%) to 1.17 million tonnes. Sheep were the only animals with lower volumes of slaughterings, which contracted by 7,000 tonnes (-10%) to 63,000 tonnes in 2024. Poultry slaughterings increased by 14,000 tonnes (+8%) to 193,000 tonnes, pig slaughterings rose by 11,000 tonnes (+4%) to 312,000 tonnes, and Beef & Veal slaughterings were up by 3,000 tonnes (+1%) to 603,000 tonnes.
The net export (i.e. exports minus imports) of Total Meat grew by 7,000 tonnes (+1%) to 632,000 tonnes in 2024. Poultry was the only meat type where there were net imports, with the volume of imports exceeding exports by 70,000 tonnes, an increase of 3,000 tonnes on the previous year due to higher imports. The net export of Pig Meat grew by 13,000 tonnes (+10%) to 144,000 tonnes while the net export of Beef & Veal grew by 3,000 tonnes (+1%) to 509,000 tonnes. The net export of Sheep Meat fell by 6,000 tonnes (-11%) to 48,000 tonnes.
Ireland’s rate of self-sufficiency in meat was 233% in 2024, up from 230% the previous year. Sheep Meat was the only category of meat with a reduction in its self-sufficiency rate, which dropped from 405% to 385%. The self-sufficiency rate for Beef & Veal rose from 680% to 701%, the rate for Pig Meat grew from 198% to 210%, and for Poultry it was up from 71% to 72%.
Gross Indigenous Production (GIP) of Total Meat increased by 48,000 tonnes (+4%) to 1.25 million tonnes in 2024, with Beef & Veal accounting for 20,000 tonnes of this growth and Pig Meat a further 17,000 tonnes.
| X-axis label | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beef & Veal | 52.4 | 52.8 | 52.4 |
| Pig Meat | 29.6 | 27.7 | 28 |
| Sheep Meat | 4.8 | 5 | 4.5 |
| Poultry Meat | 13.3 | 14.4 | 15.1 |
The per capita annual human consumption of meat in Ireland rose by 1kg to 100kg in 2024. This increase was attributable to a rise in the annual per capita consumption of Poultry Meat, which increased by 2kg (+5%) to 49kg. The per capita annual consumption of all other meats fell in 2024. Poultry accounted for 49% of a person’s annual average meat consumption followed by Pig Meat at 31%, Beef & Veal at 17%, and Sheep Meat at 3%.
| X-axis label | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Beef & Veal | 17.4 |
| Pig Meat | 31.1 |
| Sheep Meat | 2.7 |
| Poultry Meat | 48.9 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (14 October 2025) published Meat Supply Balance results for 2025.
Commenting on the release, Mairead Griffin, Statistician in the Agricultural Accounts and Production Section, said: “In 2024, the supply of meat in the Irish market increased by 17,000 tonnes (+1%) to 1.45 million tonnes. Of the available supply, Beef & Veal accounted for 44%, followed by Pig Meat (27%), Poultry (24%), and Sheep Meat (5%). The volume of total slaughterings was up by 22,000 tonnes (+2%). Sheep was the only category of meat that experienced a fall in slaughtering output, with volumes down by 7,000 tonnes (-10%).
The net export of meat (i.e. exports less imports) was up by 7,000 tonnes (+1%) to 632,000 tonnes despite sheep and Poultry net exports falling by 6,000 tonnes and 3,000 tonnes respectively. Poultry is the only category of meat where imports exceed exports and for 2024, the State had net imports of 70,000 tonnes of Poultry meat.
The self-sufficiency rate for Total Meat, which measures the extent to which the production of Irish meat can meet domestic demand, rose from 230% to 233%. The self-sufficiency rate for Sheep Meat was the only category of meat that experienced a drop in its self-sufficiency rate as it fell from 405% to 385%.”