AUSTRALIA: Fall in meat production in December, particularly lamb, sheep and cattle

For the fifth consecutive month, lamb production in Australia has decreased. In December, the number of lambs slaughtered dropped by 100,000 from November's figures, totalling 1.5m, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). An even more dramatic fall was recorded in the figures of sheep slaughter, with total meat production recorded at 26,600 tonnes. This represents a drop of 0.3 million sheep.

February 1, 2001

For the fifth consecutive month, lamb production in Australia has decreased. In December, the number of lambs slaughtered dropped by 100,000 from November’s figures, totalling 1.5m, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

An even more dramatic fall was recorded in the figures of sheep slaughter, with total meat production recorded at 26,600 tonnes. This represents a drop of 0.3 million sheep.

Furthermore, while pig meat production remained constant at 31,000 tonnes, figures on the slaughter of cattle also fell after their all-time high in November. During December, around 168,000 tonnes of beef was produced, representing 640,000 animals.