The number of cattle slaughtered in the country over 2022 was 6.7% higher than the previous year, new Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures show.

There were a total 1.91m cattle killed in meat plants last year, with the month of December seeing slaughterings up 0.6% on the previous year.

The sheep kill rose more steeply, with 7.7% more sheep slaughtered between January and December 2022 when compared with the same period in 2021.

December’s slaughter figures were almost 9% higher when compared with the year previous.

Despite these beef and sheep sector trends, pig processor throughput was back 1.5% over the year.

Slaughterings were down 6.0% in December 2022 on December 2021’s pig kill, according to the CSO.