The supply of Total Meat fell by 18,000 tonnes (-1%) to 1.44 million tonnes in 2025. Beef & Veal accounted for 591,000 tonnes (41%) of supply, followed by Pig Meat at 404,000 tonnes (28%), and Poultry at 382,000 tonnes (27%). Sheep Meat accounted for the remaining 58,000 tonnes (4%).
In 2025, the total volume of slaughterings contracted by 46,000 tonnes (-4%), with Beef & Veal slaughtering declining by 58,000 tonnes (-10%) and slaughtering of Sheep Meat decreasing by 10,000 tonnes (-15%). Higher Poultry (+14,000 tonnes, +7%) and Pig Meat (+8,000 tonnes, +3%) production helped to offset some of the impact of these lower slaughtering volumes on Total Meat supply.
The volume of net exports (i.e. exports less imports) of Total Meat dropped by 74,000 tonnes (-12%) to 567,000 tonnes. The net export of Beef & Veal fell by 48,000 tonnes (-9%), Pig Meat decreased by 4,000 tonnes (-2%) while net exports of Sheep Meat were down 8,000 tonnes (-16%).
As has been the case for a number of years, Ireland was a net importer of Poultry Meat in 2025, with the volume of imports exceeding exports by 85,000 tonnes, an increase of 15,000 tonnes (+21%) on 2024.
Ireland’s Self-Sufficiency rate for Total Meat decreased from 237% to 215% in 2025. The Self-Sufficiency rate went up from 779% to 789% for Beef & Veal but was down for all other meat types. It fell from 210% to 204% for Pigmeat, contracted from 383% to 381% for Sheep Meat, and dropped from 72% to 69% for Poultry Meat.
The annual per capita human consumption of Total Meat increased from 98kg to 102kg in 2025. Per capita consumption of Pig and Poultry Meats grew by 2kgs and 5kg respectively while the per capita consumption of Beef & Veal meat fell by 2kg and Sheep Meat decreased marginally by less than 0.5kg.
In 2025, the total supply of meat in Ireland was estimated at 1.44 million tonnes, a drop of 18,000 tonnes (-1%) on the previous year. Of the available supply, Beef & Veal accounted for 41%, Pig Meat 28%, and Poultry 27%. The remaining 4% came from Sheep Meat.
The volume of slaughterings contracted by 46,000 tonnes (-4%) to 1.12 million tonnes. Pigs and Poultry were the only animals with higher volumes of slaughterings, which grew by 8,000 tonnes (+3%) and 14,000 tonnes (+7%) respectively in 2025. Beef & Veal slaughterings fell by 58,000 tonnes (-10%) to 544,000 tonnes while Sheep slaughterings dropped by 10,000 tonnes (-15%) to 53,000 tonnes.
The net export (i.e. exports minus imports) of Total Meat decreased by 74,000 tonnes (-12%) to 567,000 tonnes in 2025. Once again, Poultry was the only meat type where there were net imports, with the volume of imports exceeding exports by 85,000 tonnes, an increase of 15,000 tonnes on 2024. The net export of Pig Meat fell by 4,000 tonnes (-2%) to 141,000 tonnes while the net export of Beef & Veal dropped by 48,000 tonnes (-9%) to 470,000 tonnes. The net export of Sheep Meat went down to 41,000 tonnes (-8,000 tonnes, -16%) in 2025.
Ireland’s rate of Self-Sufficiency in Total Meat was 215% in 2025, down from 237% in 2024. Beef & Veal was the only category of meat with a rise in its Self-Sufficiency rate, which grew from 779% in 2024 to 789%. The Self-Sufficiency rate for Pig meat fell from 210% to 204%, the rate for Sheep Meat dropped from 383% to 381%, and for Poultry it reduced from 72% to 69%.
Gross Indigenous Production (GIP) of Total Meat decreased by 54,000 tonnes (-4%) to 1.20 million tonnes in 2025, with GIP in Beef & Veal contracting by 71,000 tonnes (-11%), and Sheep a further 9,000 tonnes (-15%). These reductions were marginally offset by growth of 14,000 tonnes (+4%) in GIP for Pigs and an additional 12,000 tonnes (+6%) for Poultry.
| X-axis label | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beef & Veal | 52.8 | 52.3 | 48.8 |
| Pig Meat | 27.7 | 28 | 30.4 |
| Sheep Meat | 5 | 4.5 | 4 |
| Poultry Meat | 14.4 | 15.2 | 16.8 |
The per capita annual human consumption of meat in Ireland rose by 4kg to 102kg in 2025. This increase was attributable to a rise in the annual per capita consumption of Pig and Poultry Meat, which increased by 2kg (+6%) and 5kg (+9%) respectively. The full impact of these increases was reduced by a 2kg (-13%) fall in the per capita consumption of Beef & Veal and a very minor reduction in the average consumption of Sheep meat. Poultry accounted for 52% of a person’s annual average meat consumption followed by Pig Meat at 32%, Beef & Veal at 13%, and Sheep Meat at 2%.
| X-axis label | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Beef & Veal | 13.3 |
| Pig Meat | 32.1 |
| Sheep Meat | 2.2 |
| Poultry Meat | 52.3 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (15 October 2026) published Meat Supply Balance results for 2025.
Commenting on the release, Mairead Griffin, Statistician in the Agricultural Accounts and Production Section, said: “In 2025, the supply of meat in the Irish market fell by 18,000 tonnes (-1%) to 1.44 million tonnes. Of the available supply, Beef & Veal accounted for 41%, followed by Pig Meat (28%), Poultry (27%), and Sheep Meat (4%). The volume of total slaughterings fell by 46,000 tonnes (-4%). The volume of both Beef & Veal, and Sheep Slaughterings were down, with Beef & Veal tonnage 58,000 (-10%) lower than 2024, while Sheep slaughterings were down by 10,000 tonnes (-15%).
With lower Slaughtering volumes, the net export (i.e. exports less imports) of Total Meat dropped by 74,000 tonnes (-12%) to 567,000 tonnes. As has been the trend for a number of years, Poultry was the only category of meat where imports exceeded exports and for 2025, net imports of Poultry rose by 15,000 tonnes to 85,000 tonnes.
The Self-Sufficiency rate for Total Meat, which measures the extent to which the production of Irish meat can satisfy domestic demand, declined from 237% to 215%. This reduction was driven by drops in the Self-Sufficiency rate for Pig, Sheep and Poultry Meats, although the full impact of these reductions on the Self-Sufficiency rate for total meats was offset by growth in the Self-Sufficiency rate for Beef & Veal.”