Less and Less Meat on the Shelves of Hungarian Shops

For all major livestock species, the number of animals sent to slaughter fell in the first half of the year in Hungary, while exports and trade in general also decreased.

In the first half of the year, 48,500 cattle were slaughtered, 5.5% fewer than in the same period last year. The decrease was 6.8% in live weight and 6.5% in carcass weight. The slaughtering of cows fell by 7.2%, heifers by 2.4% and bulls by 10.4% in head counts in the first half of 2022 compared with the same period a year earlier, the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI) said in a report.

In the external trade of cattle, a 10% drop in export volumes was the main factor, while import volumes remained at the same level as in the same period last year. Exports were still significantly higher: according to data by the Central Statistical Office (KSH), Hungary imported 5,300 tons of live cattle in the first five months of 2022, compared to 28,600 tons of exports.

Also, KSH reported that the total number of cattle was 902,700 on June 1, 2022, the herd has decreased by 28,900 since June 2021, but increased marginally compared to December 2021. On an annual basis, the number of cows increased by 1,400 to 416,600 on June 1, 2022.

The contraction in domestic livestock production was also reflected in the number of pig slaughtering, with 2.239 million pigs entering slaughterhouses in the first half of the year, 6.5% or 156,000 fewer than in the first half of last year. The total live weight of animals slaughtered was 266,000 tons and the carcass weight 214,000 tons, i.e. both live and carcass weights were 7% lower than in the same period last year. 

The number of sheep slaughtered in Hungarian slaughterhouses was 20,000 in the first half of 2022, a decrease of 20% compared to the same period of the previous year. The sheep flock was 928,500 on June 1 this year, 29,800, 3% lower than a year earlier.

The main decline in numbers and slaughtering was in poultry, mainly due to the avian influenza epidemic. The 99.4 million birds slaughtered in the first half of the year were 12.8% fewer than in the same period last year. Chickens made up the bulk of poultry (85%), with 84.7 million slaughtered, 6.2% less than in January-June 2021.

Within the poultry slaughter, turkeys accounted for 3% and ducks for 9.1%. 9.1 million ducks and 950,000 geese were slaughtered in the first half of 2022. The decrease was drastic: 34.7% for geese and 48.9% for ducks. 3.03 million turkeys were sent to slaughter in the first six months of 2022, 1% more than in the same period last year. According to data by the Central Statistical Office, the domestic flock of chickens was 29.9 million on June 1, 2022, 3.6 million less than a year earlier.