70.72 Million Laying Hens in Q3
Broiler Production Also Declines
[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The number of laying hens raised has yet to recover to last year's level due to the impact of avian influenza (AI) last winter.
Statistics Korea announced the results of the third quarter livestock trend survey, which includes this information, on the 21st. The results were based on data as of the 1st of last month.
As of the third quarter, the number of laying hens raised was recorded at 70,722,000. This is a decrease of 3,131,000 (4.2%) compared to the same period a year ago. Due to large-scale culling caused by AI and the subsequent rise in chick prices, it is taking time to recover to the same level as last year. It is expected that the number of laying hens must return to normal levels to help stabilize egg prices.
The number of broilers raised in the third quarter was 83,699,000, down 4,504,000 (5.1%) from a year earlier, and ducks were 7,530,000, down 1,756,000 (18.9%).
The decrease in the number of ducks raised is largely due to the implementation of the winter rest period system, which temporarily suspends farming and provides compensation to farmers to prevent AI.
The number of Korean beef cattle raised was 3,584,000, an increase of 149,000 (4.3%) compared to a year ago. The number of pigs raised also increased by 100,000 (0.9%) to 11,465,000 during the same period.
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