Number of cattle at S. Korean farms down in Q4 amid falling beef prices

The number of beef cattle fell on-year in the fourth quarter of 2023, data showed Friday, amid the country's falling meat prices in the market. South Korean farms raised 3.62 million beef cattle, including the premium "hanwoo" over the period, down 2.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The number of milk cows also fell 0.8 percent to 387,000 over the period, the data showed. The agency added that the number of egg-laying chickens moved up 4.1 percent to 3.01 million following higher egg prices. The number of broiler chickens also gained 6.1 percent to 5.4 million. Local farms also raised 11.08 million pigs in the fourth quarter, down 0.3 percent on-year. The number of ducks moved up 9.1 percent to 544,000. Source: Yonhap News Agency