Last year, Czech meat production stood at 447,525t, down 2.4% compared with 2012. Pig meat dominated the country’s meat production, with 234,273t in 2013, a decrease of 2.3%. Poultry ranked in second, with 148,174t, down 2.9% from a year earlier, followed by beef and veal, with 64,825t produced in 2013, down 1.4%, as shown by figures from the CSU.
On a positive note, the country’s meat industry was able to improve its sales in the fourth quarter of last year. From October to December 2013, Czech beef and veal production totalled 16,838t, up 6.5% from a quarter earlier. Also, quarterly pig meat production improved in the last three months of last year with an increase of 2.4% to 59,238t, the Czech office said.
The fall in meat production in the Czech Republic has triggered a decrease in livestock prices offered to local breeders. In the fourth quarter of 2013, the prices offered for cattle for slaughter were down year-on-year in all segments, translating into a decrease of 22% for calves, 5.7% for bulls, 3.9% for cows, and 0.6% for heifers. According to the CSU, the average price of bulls for slaughter was CZK44.35 (US$2.20) per kg of live weight. Similarly, the average price of first-class chicken for slaughter was down 1.6% to CZK23.95 (US$1.19) per kg of live weight.
In contrast, the average prices offered to Czech breeders for pigs for slaughter were up 1.1% to some CZK35.47 (US$1.76) per kg of live weight, according to data from the CSU.