Nicosia: Meat production from both sheep and goats saw a decline of over 40% in May compared to the previous month, as reported by the Statistical Service. According to Cyprus News Agency, this decrease coincided with measures to control foot-and-mouth disease, which included culling animals.
During the same period, cattle meat production experienced a slight increase of 2.69%. Specifically, the total number of sheep slaughtered for meat production in May 2026 was 14,642, down from 25,174 in April 2026, marking a 41% decrease. Similarly, the number of goats decreased to 8,679 in May from 15,247 in April, reflecting a 43% reduction.
The cattle count increased to 1,375 from 1,339 a month earlier, indicating a growth of 2.69%. Meanwhile, the number of pigs slaughtered for meat production at the end of May stood at 43,066, down from 44,629, showing a 3.5% decrease. Poultry production reached 1,411,776, up from 1,171,116 in April, marking a monthly increase of 20.55%.
In a year-on-year comparison, the use of sheep and goats for meat production in May 2026 showed significant increases of 55.4% and 30.5%, respectively, compared to May 2025. However, cattle meat production recorded an annual decrease of 9.9%. Pigs experienced a marginal annual decrease of 0.7%, while poultry showed an increase of 16.1% in May 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.