In the first four months of the year, 4.71 million cattle were slaughtered, up 12.3 percent from the 4.20 million slaughtered between January and April 2022. This was indicated by ABC Exporters Association in its latest job report.
One detail to follow closely in this context is that females accounted for 50.2% of the total slaughter in the month of April, marginally higher than the 47.2% share registered in the same month last year. Furthermore, in the first four months of the current year, female slaughter reaches a share of 47.0% in total slaughter, slightly higher than the record of 45.7% corresponding to the period January to April 2022. In the first four months of 2023, nearly 300,000 more females were sent to slaughter than in the same period last year,” the report details.
The data shows the need for producers to reduce the load on farms by removing all unproductive cows from the herd and even reducing the number of colostrums in some cases. The experts are still not talking about stomach liquidation, but they agree that the trend for the next cycle is to shrink, and they warn that if there is no significant rainfall in the coming weeks, the females will can be sent for slaughter.
“Bovine meat production achieved in April 2023 was equal to 262.6 thousand tons of bone-in beef, which means an increase (+8.1%) compared to April 2022. In the first four months of 2022, around January and Between April 2022 and 1.07 million tonnes of carcass equivalent were produced, compared to 963.1 thousand tonnes achieved (+10.9%), “the ABC report indicates.
The determining factor in the increase in slaughter is drought, which forces a reduction in the number of head in the region, which also leads to a decline in slaughter weight. According to the survey, the average weight of bovine carcasses decreased (-1.2%) to 224.0 kg as compared to 226.8 kg in the last month of March, corresponding to the fourth month of the current year; And this resulted in (-2.9%) less than 230.8 kg in April 2022. Same period last year,” he points out.
