May 24, 2005

US red meat production slips 2 percent from April 2004

US commercial red meat production recorded 3.62 billion pounds in April, down 2 percent from the 3.71 billion pounds produced in April 2004.

Pork production totalled 1.70 billion pounds, down 1 percent from the previous year. Beef production, at 1.89 billion pounds, was 3 percent below April 2004. Meanwhile, lamb and mutton production was at 15.5 million pounds, falling 11 percent from the same period in the previous year.

January to April 2005 commercial red meat production was 14.6 billion pounds, slipping 1 percent from 2004. Compared with the corresponding period in the previous year, accumulated beef production was down 2 percent, pork registered a marginal fall, while lamb and mutton production was down 8 percent.