The number of pigs is increasing significantly, while the number of cattle is decreasing
Provisional data of the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) show that In 2021, compared to the previous year, the number of pigs increased by 20.2 thousand, or 6.6 %, amounting to 327.0 thousand. The number of cattle decreased by 5.5 thousand or 1.4 % compared to the previous year. The number of dairy cows also continued to decrease, reaching 131.2 thousand at the end of 2021, which is 4.8 thousand or 3.6 % less than last year.
The numbers of sheep and goats dropped by 1.7 % and 0.7 % respectively.
Number of livestock at the end of the year
(thousand)
2020 | 20211, 2 | Changes, % (2021/2020) | |
Cattle | 399.0 | 393.5 | -1.4 |
dairy cows | 136.0 | 131.2 | -3.6 |
non-dairy cows | 60.0 | 61.4 | 2.4 |
Pigs | 306.8 | 327.0 | 6.6 |
Sheep | 91.9 | 90.3 | -1.7 |
Goats | 11.5 | 11.4 | -0.7 |
Horses | 8.3 | 8.4 | 2.0 |
Poultry | 5 837.9 | 5 857.7 | 0.3 |
laying hens | 3 345.1 | 3 395.2 | 1.5 |
Beef, pork and poultry production increases, mutton and goat production decreases
Meat production in Latvia is set to increase in 2021, with 93.4 thousand tonnes of meat produced, that is 1.5 thousand tonnes or 1.7 % more than in 2020. Production increased by 6.3 % for beef, 1.6 % for pork and 0.2 % for poultry, while sheep and goat meat production decreased by 16.8 %.
Output of livestock products
2020 | 20211 | Changes, % (2021/2020) | |
Meat (slaughter weight), thousand tonnes | 91.9 | 93.4 | 1.7 |
beef and veal | 16.0 | 17.0 | 6.3 |
pork | 37.3 | 37.8 | 1.6 |
mutton and goat | 1.0 | 0.8 | -16.8 |
poultry | 37.5 | 37.6 | 0.2 |
other meat | 0.1 | 0.1 | 59.6 |
Milk (including goat milk), thousand tonnes | 990.1 | 992.2 | 0.2 |
Eggs, million pieces | 801.8 | 825.6 | 3.0 |
Cattle exports unchanged, decline in exports of pigs
Number of exported live cattle in 2021 is unchanged compared to the previous year (60.4 thousand). Number of imported cattle increased by 1.9 thousand or 1.8 times.
In 2021, exports of live pigs decreased by 27.0 thousand or 11.7 % compared to 2020. Of the total number of pigs exported, 73.5 % were piglets for further fattening (68.4 % in 2020). Number of imported pigs decreased by 0.5 thousand or 0.5 %.
The number of live sheep exported in 2021 increased 3.4 times compared to 2020.
For more detailed information on animal imports and exports, see the Official Statistics Portal under “Foreign trade in goods”.
Highest milk purchase price in history of Latvia
In 2021, the average purchase price of milk increased by EUR 37 per tonne, or 13.2 %, to EUR 318 per tonne, the highest milk purchase price in the history of Latvia. The lowest milk purchase price was in January (EUR 292/tonne) and the highest in December (EUR 397/tonne). The volume of milk purchased increased by 2.8 %.
Despite a decrease in the number of dairy cows, with the average milk yield per dairy cow increasing by 199 kilograms or 2.8 % to 7 362 kilograms per year, the total volume of milk produced (including goat milk) in 2021 was slightly up by 2.1 thousand tonnes or 0.2 %.
The largest increase in milk production was observed in Zemgale - by 8.1 thousand tonnes or 4.1 %, while the largest decrease was in Vidzeme - by 5.4 thousand tonnes or 2.1 %.
Egg production increases by 3 %
At the end of 2021, the number of laying hens increased by 50.1 thousand or 1.5 %. 825.6 million eggs were produced, an increase of 23.8 million or 3.0 % compared to 2020. Of the total quantity of eggs produced, 97 % were hens' eggs (99 % in 2020). On average, 299 eggs were produced per laying hen, a decrease of 2.6 % compared to 2020.
1 Provisional data
2 Data on the number of cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, horses and poultry are derived from the Livestock Register of the Agricultural Data Centre.
Media requests:
Communication Section
E-mail: media@csp.gov.lv
Phone: +371 27880666
More information on data:
Lolita Lazda-Lazdiņa
Agricultural Statistics Section
E-mail: Lolita.Lazda@csp.gov.lv
Phone: +371 67366982
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