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The annual cattle kill in NI totalled 505,895 head during 2022, smashing the previous record high of 473,900 from 2010.
Throughput in 2022 was up 9% on the previous year, with an additional 42,277 cattle processed.
The number of prime cattle slaughtered in 2022 rose 7.5% to 373,485, with cull cows hitting a new record high of 118,872, up 13.5% on 2021.
Sheep
Meanwhile, factory throughput of sheep at local plants during 2022 reached its highest level since 2015. The kill finished at 476,334 head, up from 459,503 in 2021. Exports of NI sheep to slaughter plants in the Republic of Ireland totalled 336,677 head in 2022, up from 320,672 during the previous year but almost 42,000 below 2020 levels.
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