April 24, 2024

South Korea's beef cattle numbers dropped in Q1 2024

The number of beef cattle in South Korea fell on-year in the first quarter of 2024 as farmers reduced the number of cows raised in order to deal with falling prices, the country's statistics agency said on April 19.

South Korean farms raised 3.49 million beef cattle as of end-March, down 3.9% from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The price of cattle has fallen in line with a long-term excess supply, as the cattle population had risen to reach an all-time yearly high of 3.73 million at end-2022.

The number of milk cows inched down 0.7% on-year to 382,000 in the first quarter of 2024.

The number of pigs also declined 1.1% to 10.99 million in the first quarter.

The number of ducks jumped 25.4% on-year to 6.05 million and that of broiler chickens added 3.2% on-year to 76.03 million, data showed.

- Yonhap