A total of 54,947 tons of red meat were produced in Iran’s official slaughterhouses during the month ending Dec. 21 to register a 52% rise compared with the similar month of last year and a 0.3% month-on-month decline.
The Statistical Center of Iran's latest report shows beef accounted for 28,809 tons, or 52.4% of the overall production, indicating a year-on-year increase of 39.6%.
A total of 21,744 tons of lamb (up 76% YOY), 3,368 tons of goat meat (up 23% YOY) and 1,026 tons of meat from other types of livestock were produced during the one-month period, accounting for 39.6%, 6.1% and 1.9% of the total output respectively, SCI reported on its website.
This is while demand for red meat has declined by 25-30% and per capita consumption decreased to 8.5 kilograms (12 kg=standard) in the current Iranian year (March 2020-21) compared to the year before, according to the chairman of Iran Sheep Meat Union.
“The decline in meat consumption has been higher than in previous years due to rising prices,” Ali Asghar Maleki was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency on Monday.