ZAGREB, 16 Feb (Hina) – The number of cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and poultry in Croatia dropped in 2023, show preliminary data from the national statistical office (DZS).

Compared to the final data for 2022, the number of cattle dropped by 1.7% to 415,000 head.

The number of bovine animals older than two years dropped by 3.7% to 155,000 head, with the number of dairy cows going down more significantly, by 10.1%. In early November 2023, there were 71,000 dairy cows in Croatia, 8,000 fewer than in early November 2022, when there were 79,000 dairy cows.

The number of cattle up to one year old dropped 2.7% in 2023 to 145,000 head, while the number of bovine animals between one and two years old rose by 2.7% to 115,000 head.

The total number of pigs dropped by 10.4% to 847,000.

The number of breeding pigs stayed the same, at 87,000. The number of sows dropped by 20.5% to 35,000 while the number of gilts was at 11,000, an increase of 37.5%.

In early November 2023 there were 374,000 fattening pigs weighing up to 50 kg, which is 100,000 fewer pigs or 21.1% down from early November 2022.

The number of sheep last year dropped by 14.2% to 552,000 head, while the number of goats dropped by 11% to 73,000.

The number of poultry dropped by 3.9% from November 2022 to 10.5 million birds.