EU sheep meat production drops in Q1
Thursday, 9 June 2022
In the first quarter of 2022 the EU produced a total of 97,000 tonnes of sheep meat, down 3.7% compared to the same period last year. Ireland and Greece are the only key producers in the region to have increased production of sheep meat compared to a year ago, producing 16,000 tonnes and 11,000 tonnes respectively. France saw the largest decline, producing almost 2,000 tonnes less sheep meat in Q1 2022 year-on-year.
Total EU sheep slaughter for Q1 stood at 6.5 million head, down 7.5% for the same time last year. Again, Ireland and Greece were the only key producers to increase slaughter year on year, with Italy, Spain and France seeing numbers fall.
The drop in slaughter is the main driver for the reduced production of sheep meat in 2022 compared to 2021 and follows the sentiment in the EU short-term outlook, which forecasts year end production in 2022 to be 2% below last year due to a reduced flock size.
![Image of staff member Freya Shuttleworth](https://projectblue.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/Staff Bio/MI/Freya Shuttleworth - 230907.png)
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