October 24, 2024

 

EU sees decline in meat production, livestock numbers, except poultry

A new report published by Eurostat has revealed a decline in most types of meat production across Europe in 2023, except for chicken, and a reduction in livestock populations across the European Union (EU), Agriland reported.

 

The figures were collected through mandated surveys by EU member states. These surveys are conducted twice a year for bovine and swine livestock.

 

At the end of 2023, there were 133 million swine and 74 million bovine animals in the EU. Most of these livestock populations were concentrated in a few key member states.

 

Spain accounted for about one-quarter of the EU's swine (25.4%) populations in 2023, while France had 22.8% of the EU's bovine population.

 

Some EU countries are relatively specialised in livestock farming. Ireland, for example, had the fourth-largest population of cattle in the EU, making up 8.8% of the collective European herd. This places it behind France, Turkey, and Germany but ahead of Spain and Italy.

 

Denmark accounted for 8.6% of the EU's swine population, closely trailing behind France.

 

The report also highlighted a long-term downward trend in livestock populations over the last two decades. Bovine numbers dropped by 9%.

 

From 2022 to 2023 alone, the populations of swine and bovine animals decreased at similar rates (between -1.0% and -1.5%).

 

However, poultry meat production in the EU increased by 2.3% in 2023, reaching 13.3 million tonnes, a return to the highs of 2020.

 

Poland was the largest contributor to poultry production, accounting for 20.6% (2.7 million tonnes), followed by Spain at 12.8% (1.7 million tonnes), Germany at 11.8% (1.6 million tonnes), and France at 11.5% (1.5 million tonnes). Italy increased its poultry production by 10%, contributing 1.3 million tonnes, or 10% of the EU's overall production.

 

In contrast, the production of pork in the EU in 2023 fell to 20.6 million tonnes, a decline of 11.8% (2.8 million tonnes) from its peak in 2021, when 23.4 million tonnes were produced. This marks the lowest level of pork production in 15 years.

 

Spain was the largest producer of pork in 2023, contributing 23.6% of the EU total with 4.9 million tonnes, followed by Germany with 4.2 million tonnes (20.4%), France (10%), and Poland (8.6%).

 

Production declines were observed across several EU member states, including Ireland, which saw an 11% decline in pork production. The Netherlands and Denmark experienced the most significant declines, with reductions of 13.1% and 19.9%, respectively.

 

The EU produced 5.7 million tonnes of beef in 2023. Over three-quarters of this production came from six countries: France (20.7%), Germany (17.3%), Ireland (10.9%), Italy (9.7%), Poland (9.3%), and Spain (9.1%).

 

Veal production in 2023 amounted to 0.7 million tonnes. The largest European contributors to veal production were the Netherlands (27.5%), Spain (21.9%), France (18.3%), and Italy (9.6%).

 

Beef and veal production volumes have been declining in recent years. In 2023, production was 255,000 tonnes lower than in 2022, representing a 3.8% decline in just one year.

 

-      Agriland