We are talking about preliminary data of course, which date to February 3: they refer, therefore, to the first month of 2019. Yet they are rather surprising, since they break the long positive streak, so far recorded by the livestock and farming industry worldwide; on top of that, they also contradict the latest forecasts, so far issued, about 2019, which is expected to be extremely rewarding. Well, as reported by USDA, the United States Department of Agriculture, from January 1st until February 3rd they have slaughtered 2.89 million bovine units, therefore decreasing by 2.7% compared to 2018 same period. Most of all, calves (46,000 units) dropped by 12.8%. Things are not going much better in the sheep and goat sector, whose trend is however positive (+0.8%), thanks to 176,000 slaughtered units. Let’s wait and see how things go: US meat may well confirm its growth expectations throughout the year, though the first month of 2019 proved to be a flop.
