April 23, 2008

Russia sees a drop in cattle numbers

Russia saw a 0.3-percent drop in cattle numbers this year to 22.4 million heads, according to the state statistics service.

Cow numbers fell by 1 percent to 9.4 million while the pig herd expanded by 0.5 percent to 16.9 million. The number of sheep and goats increased by 7.2 percent to 22.2 million.

The proportion of cattle kept by the population on small, private holdings increased to 47.2 percent from 46.6 percent a year ago, pigs fell to 41.7 percent from 42.2 percent and sheep and goats fell to 52.3 percent from 54.2 percent. The rest of the cattle, pigs, sheep and goats are kept on large-scale farms.