Irish beef and sheep production declined in 2025, while the estimated amount of meat available for consumption per person increased.
The Central Statistics Office’s Meat Supply Balance shows that gross indigenous production of beef and veal fell by 11%, while sheep-meat production declined by 15%.
Pig and poultry production increased, partly offsetting those reductions.
Total gross indigenous meat production fell by 4% to approximately 1.2 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, estimated annual meat consumption rose by around 4kg per person to 102kg.
Poultry accounted for approximately 52% of that total, followed by pig meat at 32%, beef and veal at 13% and sheep meat at 2%.
The consumption figures are calculated from national supply-balance data rather than a survey of individual diets.
Ireland remained a substantial net exporter of meat, although net exports fell by 12% to 567,000 tonnes.
