A tough winter ahead for meat processing plants, as livestock numbers continue to decline
A tough winter ahead for meat processing plants, as livestock numbers continue to decline
6 May 2025
Latest figures from Stats NZ show a 21 percent drop in sheep numbers over the past 10 years - a total decline of 6.2 million sheep since 2014.
The number of dairy cattle also fell, 13 percent over the same period.
Federated Farmers Meat and Wool Chair, Toby Williams says - keeping livestock processing plants open, profitable and running efficiently is a significant challenge.
He says big plants are struggling to get numbers of livestock through, with close to million less lambs to process this year than last.
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