LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION, 2021

Decrease in the production of milk in cattle farming

In 2021, as compared to the previous year, the increase of cattle went up by 2.3%, that is, by about 1 800 tonnes. In the same period, the total number of calves brought forth increased by 4 000 head (by 3.4%). The total number of slaughtered cattle, that is, slaughtered head, increased by one thousand (by 0.6%), while the net weight decreased by about 200 tonnes (by 0.5%).

Along with the decrease in the total number of dairy cows in 2021, the total production of cows’ milk decreased by 6.5%, as compared to the same period of the previous year.

The total export of cattle in 2021 increased by 35.8%, while their total import increased by 17.4%.

Production increase in pig farming

In 2021, the increase of pigs in pig farming went up by 12.8%, accompanied by an increase in the number of slaughtered pigs of 13.7% and in their net weight of 11.0%. The number of piglets brought forth increased by about 143 thousand head (by 9.9%) in 2021, as compared to the previous year.

As regards foreign trade in 2021, the export of pigs of all categories was higher than in the previous year (by 32.1%), while the total import increased by 24.7%.

Decrease in milk production in sheep farming

The increase of sheep declined by 7.2%, that is, by about 800 thousand tonnes compared to 2020, while the total number of lambs brought forth increased by about 60 thousand head (by 14.6%). The total number of slaughtered sheep increased by 55 thousand head (by 12.8%), that is, by about 700 tonnes of net weight (by 14.2%).

The production of sheep’s milk decreased by 18.4%, while the production of wool increased by 13.3%.

Sheep import decreased by 17.9% and export by 25.0% in 2021, as compared to the previous year.

Production decrease in goat farming

The increase of goats was 27.3% lower than in the previous year, while the number of kids brought forth decreased by 11.3%. The number of slaughtered goats decreased by 7.5% and their net weight by 7.8%.

The production of goats’ milk decreased by 23.0%.

In 2021, concerning goat farming, the total foreign trade was statistically insignificant.

Increase in hens' eggs production

Concerning the production of poultry in 2021, as compared to 2020, the number of hatched chicks increased by 8.1%, while the increase of poultry went up by 10.6%. The total number of slaughtered poultry increased by 12.3% (about 5.6 million head), while their net weight increased by 11.5% (about 9 thousand tonnes).

An increase of 10.1% was recorded in the production of hens’ eggs, while the production of eggs of other poultry decreased by 28.7%.

In 2021, the total import of poultry increased by 8.2% and their export increased by 3.2%, as compared to 2020.

NOTES ON METHODOLOGY

Sources and methods of data collection

Data on the number of livestock and poultry as well as on livestock production are collected separately for legal entities and parts thereof and separately for private family farms.

Data collected on these farms include data on the number and weight of livestock and poultry, balance of cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and poultry, balance of eggs, balance of milk on private family farms, milk production (cows’, sheep’s and goats’), wool and eggs.

Data for business entities are collected in two ways: on reports that are submitted to the Croatian Bureau of Statistics by postal service and via a web application filled in by reporting units themselves.

Data for private family farms were collected by using the CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing) method applied to a selected stratified sample. The sample has been selected on the basis of the Statistical Register of Agricultural Holdings and numbers approximately 7 000 units.

The expanded data were compared to data from previous years and to available administrative sources (Unique Register of Domestic Animals kept by the Ministry of Agriculture). On the basis of all available data, corrections were done when necessary.

Data on export and import of livestock are taken over from the External Trade in Goods Statistics Department.

The methodology for carrying out the livestock survey is based on the Regulation (EC) No. 1165/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 concerning livestock and meat statistics, the Commission Regulation (EC) No. 617/2008 of 27 June 2008 laying down detailed rules for implementing the Regulation (EC) No. 1234/2007 as regarding marketing standards for eggs for hatching and farmyard poultry chicks and on the Methodological Basis for Gathering Data on Milk and Dairy Products Statistics (NN, No. 42/13).

Coverage and comparability

Reporting units are business entities and parts thereof defined in section A Agriculture, forestry and fishing according to the National Classification of Activities, 2007 version (NN, Nos 58/07 and 72/07) as well as other business entities and parts thereof engaged in the production of livestock but classified elsewhere.

Reporting units are also private family farms engaged in the production of livestock and poultry. The sample of the Annual Report on Livestock Production of 1 December 2021 was selected from the Statistical Register of Agricultural Holdings.

Confidentiality

Aggregate data for which there are reasons for confidentiality (small number of units, the dominance rule or secondary confidentiality rule), in accordance with the Official Statistics Act (NN, No. 25/20) and the Ordinance on the Statistical Data Protection Method, are treated as confidential and therefore are not published.

Definitions

Increase of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry is calculated by adding the difference in the weight of export and import to the weight of slaughtered livestock and the difference of the weight of the herd at the end and at the beginning of a reference period.

Newborns. Calved, farrowed, lambed, kidded, hatched. It comprises the total number of obtained live-born offspring of livestock and poultry (calves, piglets, lambs, kids, chicks).

Milk. The production of cows’, sheep’s and goats’ milk in legal entities as well as on private family farms is presented. The total milked quantity in a reference period is presented, irrespective of the way of milking.

Total slaughtering. Covers all livestock and poultry slaughtered on the territory of the Republic of Croatia, irrespective of origin. It represents the sum of livestock and poultry slaughtered in abattoirs and livestock and poultry slaughtered at legal entities (compulsory slaughtering) and on private family farms.

Trimmed wool. Quantities of trimmed (clipped) wool from grown up sheep and tags (matted wool and cropped wool) are reported as raw wool.

Eggs production. Data on the total number of laid eggs by all categories of hens and other kinds of poultry (eggs for setting and eggs for human consumption) are reported.

Losses. Data on the number of livestock and poultry (offspring and adult head) that died due to infectious diseases, exhaustion and accidents as well as on the number of head missing or killed, whose meat is not suitable for human consumption because of diseases, are reported.

Abbreviations

Symbols

Published by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Zagreb, Ilica 3, P. O. B. 80
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Persons responsible:
Edita Omerzo, Director of Spatial Statistics Directorate
Lidija Brković, Director General

Prepared by:
Mario Valentić and Anita Grlica

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