Tridge summary
In the first quarter of this year, the number of Korean beef and laying hens increased, while the number of dairy cows, pigs, broilers, and ducks decreased.
According to the ‘Livestock Trend Survey for the First Quarter of 2023’ announced by the National Statistical Office on the 20th, the number of Korean cattle raised in the first quarter was 3,433,000, an increase of 48,000 (1.4%) compared to the same period last year. Although the number of calves under the age of 1 decreased slightly compared to the previous year due to the recent fall in the price of calf production, the total number of breeding animals increased due to the cumulative increase in the number of breeding cattle.
The number of laying hens was 73,684,000, up 4.6% (3,256,000) from the same period last year. This is attributed to the increase in the number of stocking chickens in the second and third quarters of last year, and the increase in the number of breeding chickens for more than six months.
The number of dairy cows raised was 385,000, down 12,000 (3%) from the same period last year. As the number of breeding cows decreased, the number of dairy cows under the age of one also decreased.
The number of pigs raised was 11,111,000, down 58,000 (0.5%) from the same period last year. This is because four cases of African swine fever (ASF) occurred in the first quarter alone, preventive culling was carried out, and the number of breeding sows decreased.
The number of broilers raised was 88.852 million, down 1.138 million (1.3%) from last year. The damage caused by avian influenza (AI) continued and the increase in the cost of chicks was cited as the main reason.
The number of ducks raised was 4,823,000, down 15.5% (884,000) from the same period last year. As AI continued to occur, the breeding restriction period increased in some areas and the number of breeding animals decreased.
Meanwhile, the number of breeding households decreased in all livestock breeds in the first quarter. The number of households raised by livestock species was 86,861 Korean cattle, 5,853 dairy cows, 5,822 pigs, 2,729 chickens, and 294 ducks, respectively, showing a decrease of 2.9%, 3.8%, 2.2%, 2%, and 12.5% compared to the same period last year.
Reporter Park Ha-neul sky@nongmin.com