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At the end of 2014 agricultural holdings were breeding 422.0 thsd cattle, which is 15.5 thsd heads or 3.8% more than a year before. The number of cattle under one year and over two years of age grew by 9.1 thsd or 8.3% and by 6.9 thsd or 3.1%, respectively. In turn the number of cattle aged from one to two years slightly decreased – by 0.4 thsd or 0.6%. The number of dairy cows increased by 0.9 thsd or 0.5%, and number of suckling cows – by 5.0 thsd or 17.3%.

Number of livestock at the end of the year (1) (thsd)

The number of pigs decreased by 18.1 thsd or 4.9% over the year, which was partially affected by the spread of African swine fever. The number of exported pigs dropped by 5.7% in 2014, and the number of imported pigs – by 38.6%.

Last year the number of sheep grew by 7.7 thsd or 9.1%. In turn, the number of goats and horses keeps declining – by 0.3 thsd or 2.6% and 0.6 thsd or 5.6%, respectively.

Output of livestock products

84.3 thsd tons of meat were produced in 2014, which is 4.9% more than in 2013. It was affected by the growth in the production of beef – of 5.8%, of pork – of 3.1%, of poultry meat – of 7.0%, and of mutton – of 0.1%. The share of beef in the total volume of produced meat accounted for 21.0%, share of pork – 44.0%, share of poultry – 34.1%.

The average slaughter weight of one animal has increased both of cattle (of 6.4%) and pigs (of 1.9%).

Purchase price of meat (at slaughter weight) dropped by 12.6% – from EUR 1772 per ton in 2013 to EUR 1550 in 2014. The average purchase price of beef dropped by 14.7% and of pork – by 10.8%.

The amount of milk produced (incl. goat milk) in 2014 comprised 971.8 thsd tons, which is an increase of 56.7 thsd tons or 6.2%, as compared to 2013. The average milk yield from a dairy cow reached 5508 kg, a growth of 304 kg or 5.5% compared to the previous year.

Within the framework of milk supply quota 804.4 thsd tons of milk were purchased, which is 9.3% more than a year before. The share of purchased milk in the total volume of produced milk increased by 2.3% from 80.7% in 2013 to 83.0% in 2014.

The average purchase price for milk decreased from EUR 305 per ton in 2013 to EUR 291 in 2014 (a drop of 4.6%).

Production, purchase and average purchase price of milk

Data source: Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia

648.3 mln eggs were purchased in 2014, which is 3.0% more than a year before. One laying hen on average produced 272 eggs or 0.4% less than a year before. The average sales price of eggs decreased from EUR 7.12 per 100 eggs in 2013 to EUR 6.91 in 2014 (decrease of 2.9%).

More information on livestock farming indicators will be available in the CSB database section Livestock farming on 30 April 2015.

1 Data source for the information on number of cattle, sheep, goats and horses – the State Agency Agricultural Data Centre
² Provisional data