The Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Forestry stated today that regional slaughterhouses registered 15 thousand tonnes of beef, representing a decrease of 6.3% compared to the same period in 2016.
 
Despite this result, the sector has registered a growing trend in the archipelago over the last few years, reaching its highest in 2016 with 16 thousand tonnes of beef. This figure represents an increase of 19.2% compared to 2015, the year when slaughterhouses registered 13 thousand tonnes of beef.
 
The slaughterhouses of São Jorge, Faial, Flores and Corvo Islands saw last year an overall increase of 17.2% in slaughtered cattle compared to 2016, which has contributed to the economic dynamics of these islands.
 
According to the monthly data sent to industry partners, the slaughterhouses of Flores (25.2%) and São Jorge (21.7%) were the ones that contributed the most to mitigate the drop of 5.1% in the number of cattle slaughtered in 2017.
 
Regarding local consumption, there was a slight decrease (-1.7%) last year, compared to 2016.
 
As for the export of cattle, the 2016/2017 variation fell by 7.7%, despite the growth registered in the slaughterhouses of Flores (83.6%), São Jorge (37.4%) and Faial (7.7%).
 
The Azores produce high-quality meat as a result of the efforts of agricultural entrepreneurs and public investments in support infrastructures for the sector, namely the construction of a new and modern regional slaughter network.
 
The investments already made and those underway in the regional slaughter network, besides the support mechanisms under POSEI, have projected this sector to new levels of competitiveness by stimulating slaughters in the Region as well as the export of carcasses and packaged meat.