The year 2025 opens with declining number of slaughterings in the EU. The sector started the new year with negative signs overall. As ILM reports, according to the latest data, total cattles processed decreased by 2.8% compared to the previous year, with obvious declines especially in the young cattle (calves) segment. The relative stability of adult units (down only 0.3%) only partially balances a picture that shows significant differences among major European producers. The only ones with a positive sign are Germany, Italy (only in the adult cattle segment) and Poland.
Slaughterings on the decline in the EU
With about 1.45 million adult cattle processed in January, the segment shows a slight decrease of 0.3% compared to January 2024. However, performance varies widely among the major countries: Germany and Italy show moderate increases (+1.7% and +1%, respectively), while France and Ireland report declines (-1.6% and -1.2%). Even more pronounced challenges emerge in Spain, where the units decreased by 8.2% , and Poland, where they increased by 10.2%, reflecting the diversity of market dynamics within the EU bloc.
Critical situation elsewhere
The situation is more critical in the calf segment, where almost all major European producers report declines compared to January 2024. France (-8.1% ), Spain (-6.4%), Italy (-8.8%) and Belgium (-11.8%) face sharply declining numbers. The exception is Germany, which registers a rebound of 4.8%. But the most significant figure concerns the Netherlands, Europe’s leader in calf slaughtering, where the decline reached an impressive -19.5% , raising questions about the underlying factors, including a possible reduction in live animal imports.
What’s happening
The year 2024 was notable for a modest recovery in the cattle slaughtering sector, marking a 2% increase over the previous year. With 22.3 million head slaughtered, the EU bloc regained ground after years of difficulties, including the pandemic period and the “mad cow” crisis. The result, however, may have been endorsed by the improved market situation and the increasing flow of live animals imported from European neighbors such as Baltic states, the Czech Republic, Slovakia or Ukraine (on which, however, there is no official data).
Photo from Shutterstock
Read also:
- Ethiopia happy about US duties, while Kazakhstan removes them
- Uzbekistan: duties on leather to boost local industry
