Pig meat production down

The total carcass weight of cattle, pigs and broilers slaughtered in licensed slaughterhouses amounted to 4,578 tonnes during the second quarter of the year, an increase of 75 tonnes over the same period last year.

Pig meat production, which is the dominant sector in meat production, declined by 2.5 per cent, from 2,516 tonnes to 2,453 tonnes. When compared with last year's figure, there was a drop of 352 pigs slaughtered during the second quarter this year.

The total carcass weight of broiler slaughterings increased by 16.4 per cent. This was due to an increase in both the number of heads slaughtered (+6.9 per cent) and also due to an increase in average weight of slaughtered broilers from 1.44 kilogrammes per head to 1.57 kilogrammes.

On a regional level, slaughterings of pigs in Malta (as against Gozo) registered a decline both in heads and in pig meat while broilers registered an increase both in the number of heads and in the carcass weight of broiler meat.

While pig meat declined marginally when compared with the same quarter last year, the number of broilers slaughtered increased by 8.5 per cent and 16.2 per cent of heads and carcass weight respectively.

In Gozo, the number of broilers slaughtered increased marginally by 2.4 per cent or 7,200 heads from 289,087 in the second quarter of 2002 to 296,287 heads in the second quarter of 2003.

The carcass weight of these broilers registered a substantial increase of 17.1 per cent or 65 tonnes from 384 tonnes to 449 tonnes in the second quarter this year.

The increase in the carcass weight of broilers slaughtered was due to increases in the average carcass weight of broilers which increased by 14.1 per cent from 1.33 kilogrammes per head in the second quarter of 2002 to 1.52 kilogrammes in the second quarter of 2003.