The number of cattle slaughtered in May fell by 20% compared to the same month last year.

The latest CSO figures show the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on processing of beef, sheep and pigs during May.

The number of cattle processed in May fell by 20% to 126,100 head, down from 157,600 head in the same month of 2019.

Sheep slaughtering fell by 15.7% to 229,600hd in May 2020 compared to 272,400 head in May 2019.

Pig processing also decreased, falling by 11.4% to 264,500 in May 2020, compared to 298,400 in May 2019.

Comparing the first five months of the year, cattle processing was back 7.7% on 2019, while sheep and pig processing fell by 1.6% and 1.9% respectively.

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