More broiler meat produced

The total meat production of slaughtered animals for 2003 amounted to 18,635 tonnes, the National Statistics Office said.

Compared to 2002, the total carcass weight of animals slaughtered fell marginally by 68 tonnes (-0.4 per cent) from 18,703 tonnes.

The decline in the carcass weight of the main animals slaughtered was marginal due to the fact that declines in the production of cattle meat (-13.9 per cent) and pigmeat (-5.6 per cent) were offset by an increase in the production of broiler meat (+11.2 per cent).

When compared to 2002, the number of cattle and pigs slaughtered fell by 14.7 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively, whereas the number of broilers slaughtered increased by 6.6 per cent from 4.5 million heads in 2002 to 4.7 million heads in 2003.

In the December quarter last year a total of 1,357 cattle, 30,367 pigs and 1,226,247 broilers were slaughtered at the licensed slaughterhouses, the NSO said.

The number of heads slaughtered dropped considerably when compared to the same period a year earlier.