Beef and lamb market update: EU production grows for beef and falls for lamb in Q1 2024

European Union (EU) beef production in the first three months of 2024 has seen boosted performance compared to 2023. Considering the European Commission’s predictions of a 2% fall in production for the full year, this could suggest falling output levels later on in the year. Production has grown by nearly 60,000 tonnes (4%) from the first quarter last year, with major increases coming from Italy and Poland. Italian beef production has increased by 25,000 tonnes from 2023 to 161,000 tonnes but remains 14% lower than levels seen in 2022. Polish beef production on the other hand continues to grow from 2022 and 2023, up 16% from last year to 159,000 tonnes. Germany, as the second largest beef producer in the EU, saw an edge of +2% (4,000 tonnes) in the year to date from 2023-24, to sit at 256,000 tonnes. France continues to be the largest producer of beef in the EU, sitting at 327,000 tonnes for the first quarter of 2024. France also experienced the largest decline in production of ...