Livestock Products, Australia

Latest release

Quarterly statistics on livestock slaughtered and meat production

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Reference period
March 2024
Released
16/05/2024
  • Next Release 20/08/2024
    Livestock Products, Australia, June 2024
  • Next Release 19/11/2024
    Livestock Products, Australia, September 2024
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Key statistics

In seasonally adjusted terms for the March 2024 quarter:

  • Red meat production increased 3.0%
  • Chicken meat production decreased 0.5%

Livestock products (seasonally adjusted)

Cattle

  • Cattle slaughtered in the March 2024 quarter increased 3.4 % to 2.0 million.
  • Beef production in the March 2024 quarter increased 3.1 % to 606,009 tonnes.   

 

Sheep

  • Sheep slaughtered in the March 2024 quarter increased 10.8% to 2.6 million.
  • Mutton production in the March 2024 quarter increased 5.4% to 63,183 tonnes.

 

Lambs

  • Lambs slaughtered in the March 2024 quarter increased 5.3% to 7.1 million.
  • Lamb meat production in the March 2024 quarter increased 5.5% to 170,163 tonnes.

 

Pigs

  • Pigs slaughtered in the March 2024 quarter decreased 1.6% to 1.4 million.
  • Pig meat production in the March 2024 quarter decreased 1.7% to 115,755 tonnes.

 

Chickens

  • Chickens slaughtered in the March 2024 quarter decreased 0.5% to 181.7 million. 
  • Chicken meat production in the March 2024 quarter decreased 1.8% to 354,290 tonnes. 

Gross value of livestock (original)

  • The gross value of cattle and calves slaughtered increased 9.7% to $3.2 billion.
  • The gross value of sheep and lambs slaughtered increased 41.0% to $1.3 billion. 
  • The gross value of pigs slaughtered increased 5.8% to $464.5 million. 
  • The gross value of poultry slaughtered increased 1.5% to $1.0 billion. 

Changes in this and forthcoming issues

Suspension of trend estimates

The trend series attempts to measure underlying behaviour in livestock slaughter (including poultry) and meat production.  In the short term, this measurement may be affected by changes to regular patterns in livestock slaughterings and meat production arising from continuing COVID-19 restrictions, as well as changes in overall environmental conditions.  If the trend estimates were to be calculated without fully accounting for these factors, they would likely provide a misleading view of underlying behaviour in livestock slaughter and meat production.

It may be some time before the underlying trend can be estimated accurately.  The livestock slaughtering and meat production trend series were therefore suspended from the March 2020 reference quarter, and poultry slaughtering and meat production trend series suspended from the June 2020 reference quarter.  These trend series will be reinstated when more certainty emerges in the underlying trend for these series.

For more detail on trend estimates, please refer to the ABS Feature Article: When it's Not "Business-as-Usual": Implications for ABS Time Series.

Revisions

 

The following timeseries and datacubes have been revised with minor data changes since the release of the December 2023 issue of Livestock Products, Australia.

  • Table 5. Livestock slaughtered - sheep: all series ('000)
  • Table 6. Livestock slaughtered - lambs: all series ('000)
  • Table 7. Livestock slaughtered - pigs: all series ('000)
  • Table 9. Red meat produced - beef: all series (tonnes)
  • Table 11. Red meat produced - mutton: all series (tonnes)
  • Table 12. Red meat produced - lamb: all series (tonnes)
  • Table 13. Red meat produced - pig meat: all series (tonnes)
  • Table 14. Red meat produced - total red meat: all series (tonnes)
  • Gross value of livestock slaughtered

Data downloads

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Time Series Spreadsheets

Data files

Data Cubes

Gross value of livestock slaughtered

Data files
Download xlsx [84.67 KB]

Caution: Data in the Data Explorer is currently released after the 11:30am release on the ABS website. Please check the time period when using Data Explorer.

Data Explorer datatsets

For information Data Explorer and how it works, see the Data Explorer user guide.

  Livestock slaughtered – Quarterly statistics on livestock slaughtered.

  Meat produced – Quarterly statistics on meat production.

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 7215.0.

Seasonal adjustment for leap years

The extra leap year day in 2024 is unlikely to impact seasonally adjusted statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for March quarter 2024.  This is because the effect of an additional leap year day is analysed and accounted for as part of the seasonal adjustment process, which includes the impact of trading days. The impact of the extra leap year day will be evident in the original (non-seasonally adjusted) series. For more information please refer to this note. 

Methodology

Scope

Includes livestock and poultry slaughtering at registered abattoirs, meat production for human consumption and gross value of livestock slaughtered.

Geography

Data available for Australian and state totals.

Source

Data is sourced from commercial abattoirs and meat processors.

Collection method

A quarterly survey of commercial abattoirs and meat processors.

Concepts, sources and methods

Not applicable for this release.

History of changes

The Wool Purchases, Receivals and Sales Survey and data release (Table 16) was ceased in September 2022.

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