Welsh red meat production is worth an estimated £768 million, some 37 per cent of the total value of Welsh agricultural output – just two of the fascinating facts revealed in a go-to, newly published livestock industry booklet.
The Little Book of Meat Facts, the Compendium of Welsh Red Meat and Livestock Statistics 2024, crams 12 months of industry data into its generous 56 pages and is a must read for the red meat professional or livestock farming enthusiast.
Published by Hybu Cig Cymru-Meat Promotion Wales (HCC), the Compendium reports Wales was home in 2023 to some 13,875 sheep holdings – down from 14,067 holdings in 2022- and that each contained an average sheep flock size of 627, a slight drop on the 665 of a year earlier. A total of 2.4 million head of sheep and lambs were slaughtered at Welsh abattoirs, two per cent fewer than in 2022, resulting in 46,100 tonnes of sheep meat produced. This level of throughput accounted for 18 per cent of the total throughput in GB during 2023.
“This valuable little volume is a must for anybody with a professional – or even a passing – interest in the Welsh red meat industry,” said Glesni Phillips, HCC’s Intelligence, Analysis & Business Insight Executive. “It has thousands of stats and facts that piece together a comprehensive picture of our industry across a full year of agricultural activity, all easy to access from a swift download.”
The Compendium advises the average deadweight SQQ price of an R3L sheep in GB for 2023 was 578.9p/kg, some 8.2p higher than the average for 2022; the volume of lamb sold in Wales that year was down 3.6 per cent and the value of these sales were also down some 3 per cent, despite the average price of lamb at retail being marginally higher on the year at £11.4/kg. Leg roasting joints accounted for 43 per cent of volume sales, compared to 39 per cent a year earlier and of the lamb sold at GB retail in 2023, butchers accounted for over 11 per cent of the annual volumes sales, down from 12.3 per cent in 2022.
Bovine boffins won’t be disappointed either; among hundreds of beef-based facts the booklet reports the average herd size in Wales stood at 23 in 2023 while the number of beef cow holdings stood at 6,595 holdings, down from 6,790 holdings in 2022. There were 383,246 calf registrations, a total of 172,800 cattle slaughtered at Welsh abattoirs – up 42% on the year – producing 51,300 tonnes of beef (up 34% on the previous year). The average deadweight price of an R4L steer in England and Wales for 2023 was 485.3p/kg – which was 45.5p higher than the average for 2022.
“If you want to know anything or everything about Wales’ livestock industry, then it’s all here at your fingertips in the perfect industry desktop companion,” commended Glesni.
To view the 2024 Little Book of Meat Facts, visit our website – https://meatpromotion.wales/en/market-intelligence/market-analysis/
