The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry announced on Terceira Island that this yer registered a positive growth of about 25% in the export of carcasses slaughtered in the Azores, compared to last year.
 
More than 29 thousand animal carcasses were exported in 2015, while this year 37 thousand carcasses were shipped to external markets.
 
In the case of Terceira island, the increase in the export of bovine carcasses reached 27%.
 
"These figures show the growing importance of the meat sector on the development of the regional agricultural sector. They also provide an optimistic outlook on the growth potential of this activity," João Ponte said, adding that the data also demonstrate the commitment of Azorean producers to the meat sector.
 
The Regional Secretary pointed out that "there has been a significant increase in animal meat quality slaughtered in the Azores over the last years. This is important because it projects our presence in export markets that value and appreciate our meat."
 
João Ponte highlighted the positive effects of the investments made by the Regional Government in the regional slaughter network and the change in the previous trend of exporting live cattle for external marketing.
 
In recent years, there has been a systematic increase in the number of animals slaughtered in regional slaughterhouses and exported to external markets, which has led to the appreciation of regional meat. This has also brought benefits to the Azorean economy as well as to beef cattle producers.
 
The existence of a regional slaughter network of excellence all allowed us to have cutting, processing and preparation units that helped us focusing on marketing and directing meat products to new markets. Moreover, we have also managed to support the introduction of beef cattle animals and boost the income of farms.
 
The regional slaughter network, to be completed in this term, covers new buildings and improvements to existing facilities. It represents an overall investment of 15 million Euros in the slaughterhouses of Faial, São Miguel, Graciosa and Terceira.
 
With regard to Terceira Slaughterhouse, there is a planned contract work for the improvement and installation of refrigeration equipment amounting to 1.7 million Euros.
 
With a completion period of 10 months, this work aims to improve stable conditions in order to improve animal welfare, which is also fundamental to enhancing the quality of carcasses.
 
João Ponte visited today the farm owned by Francisco Costa in the municipality of Praia da Vitória, where he took note of the evolution of the meat sector on the island.
 
The farm has been in operation for about 20 years. Initially, cattle was bought to be fattened on pasture and then exported to Mainland Portugal and Madeira to finish the process. However, since the entry into operation of the Industrial Slaughterhouse on Terceira, it started to slaughter more animals and reduce the export of live cattle.
 
Currently, all animals are slaughtered and sold in carcass, of which 95% are exported to Madeira and Mainland Portugal; the remainder is consumed in the regional market.