Quarterly livestock surveys: slaughter of cattle and hogs and pigs up, chickens down in Q4 2023
February 09, 2024 09h00 AM | Last Updated: February 09, 2024 11h35 AM
The first results of livestock production in the fourth quarter of 2023 showed that cattle slaughter increased 19.9%, slaughter of hogs and pigs increased 0.8% and that of chickens retreated 2.3% against the same period in 2022. In the comparison between with the third quarter of 2023, cattle slaughter increased 1.3%, that of pigs and hogs decreased 3.5% and that of chickens fell 3.2%.
Acquisition of raw milk reached 6.43 billion liters, an increase of 1.8% over the fourth quarter of 2022 and of 3.2% against the immediately previous quarter.
Acquisition of rawhide by tanneries rose 17.5% against the fourth quarter of 2022 and increased 3.6% against the immediately previous quarter, adding up to 9.15 million rawhide pieces.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, the output of hen eggs reached 1.05 billion dozens, remaining stable in relation to the same period last year and dropping 1.0% against the third quarter of 2023.
| Animal slaughter, milk acquisition, acquisition of rawhide and production of hen eggs | 2022 | 2023 | 2023 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 | Q3 | Q4 | 3/1 | 3/2 | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |||
| Number of slaughtered animals (thousand head) | |||||
| Cattle | 7 544 | 8 935 | 9 048 | 19.9 | 1.3 |
| Hogs and pigs | 13 990 | 14 615 | 14 108 | 0.8 | -3.5 |
| Chickens | 1 565 231 | 1 580 549 | 1 529 999 | -2.3 | -3.2 |
| Weight of carcasses (tonnes) | |||||
| Cattle | 2 039 608 | 2 380 371 | 2 407 145 | 18.0 | 1.1 |
| Hogs and pigs | 1 276 601 | 1 373 343 | 1 295 886 | 1.5 | -5.6 |
| Chickens | 3 325 484 | 3 315 512 | 3 189 938 | -4.1 | -3.8 |
| Milk (thousand liters) | |||||
| Acquired (raw) | 6 316 242 | 6 231 393 | 6 428 763 | 1.8 | 3.2 |
| Industrialized | 6 305 265 | 6 222 039 | 6 419 949 | 1.8 | 3.2 |
| Leather (thousand units) | |||||
| Acquired (raw) | 7 791 | 8 838 | 9 154 | 17.5 | 3.6 |
| Tanned | 7 579 | 8 544 | 8 923 | 17.7 | 4.4 |
| Eggs (thousand dozen) | |||||
| Production | 1 049 652 | 1 060 798 | 1 050 087 | 0.0 | -1.0 |
| Source: IBGE, Directorate of Surveys, Coordination of Agricultural Statistics, Quarterly Survey of Animal Slaughter, Quarterly Survey of Milk, Quarterly Survey of Leather and Production of Hen Eggs. Notes: 1. The data of the fourth quarter of 2023 refer to the first results of the respective surveys. 2. The first results of the quarterly livestock surveys are released only for Brazil as of the first quarter of 2018. They are early data and can be changed until the release of the results of the reference quarter. 3. The data of the year 2023 are preliminary up to the release of the data of the first quarter of 2024. | |||||
Cattle slaughter rises 19.9% in the year and 1.3% over the previous quarter
In the fourth quarter of 2023, 9.05 million cattle head under some sort of sanitary inspection were slaughtered. That amount represented a positive change of 19.9% compared with the fourth quarter of 2022 and an increase of 1.3% in relation to the third quarter of 2023.
The production of 2.41 million tonnes of cattle carcasses in the fourth quarter of 2023 represented an increase of 18.0% in relation to the same quarter a year ago and of 1.1% in relation to the third quarter of 2023.
Slaughter of hogs and pigs grows 0.8% in the annual comparison and retreats 3.5% in the quarter
A total of 14.11 million head of hogs and pigs were slaughtered in the fourth quarter of 2023, representing an increase of 0.8% from the same quarter a year ago and a drop of 3.5% against the third quarter of 2023.
The cumulative weight of the carcasses was 1.30 million tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 1.5% compared with the fourth quarter of 2022 and a reduction of 5.6% in relation to the immediately previous quarter.
Chicken slaughter retreats 2.3% in the annual comparison and 3.2% in the quarter
In the fourth quarter of 2023, 1.53 billion chicken head were slaughtered. This result meant a reduction of 2.3% in relation to the same quarter in the previous year and of 3.2% in the comparison with the third quarter of 2023.
The cumulative weight of carcasses was of 3.19 million tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2023. That represented a decrease of 4.1% in relation to the fourth quarter of 2022 and of 3.8% against the immediately previous quarter.
Acquisition of milk rises 1.8% in the year and 3.2% in the quarter
In the fourth quarter of 2023, the acquisition of raw milk by establishments under some kind of sanitary inspection (either federal, state or municipal) was of 6.43 billion liters. This value corresponded to an increase of 1.8% in comparison with the volume recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022 and of 3.2% in relation to that obtained in the immediately previous quarter.
Acquisition of rawhide increases 17.5% in the year and 3.6% in the quarter
The tanneries investigated in the Quarterly Survey of Leather – those responsible for at least 5,000 whole pieces of cattle rawhide per year – reported to have received 9.15 million whole cattle rawhide pieces in the fourth quarter of 2023. That amount represented an increase of 17.5% compared with that recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022 and of 3.6% in relation to the immediately previous quarter.
Production of eggs remains stable in the year and drops 1.0% in the quarter
The production of hen eggs reached 1,05 million dozen in the fourth quarter of 2023. That result represented a stability in relation to the same period a year ago and a drop of 1.0% against the third quarter of 2023.
