February 21, 2013

Malta's Q4 2012 meat production down by 3%

The total meat production in Malta declined by 3% in the fourth quarter of 2012, while the producer value went up by 9.1% when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2011.

Meat production went down by 3% to 3,093 tonnes during the quarter under review, the National Statistics Office reported Wednesday (Feb 20).

Increases of 22.3% and 6% in the production of beef and broiler meat were mitigated by a drop of 12% in the production of pig meat.

The increase in beef production resulted from a 17.4% rise in the number of slaughtered cattle. In contrast, the number of slaughtered pigs fell by 2,837 heads, in spite of a marginal increase of 0.9% in the average carcass weight.

Broiler meat production went up by 6% as a result of a 6.3% rise in the average carcass weight of broilers, although the number of slaughtered broilers declined marginally by 0.3%.

The producer value of animals slaughtered at licensed slaughterhouses in the period under review amounted to EUR6.9 million (US$91 million), or 9.1% more when compared to the fourth quarter of 2011, due to an increase in the producer value of all animals slaughtered.