DECEMBER KEY FIGURES

		Dec Qtr 2006	Sep Qtr 2007	Dec Qtr 2007
TREND ESTIMATES		'000	'000	'000
Number slaughtered
	Cattle	2 068.5	1 984.5	1 981.0
	Calves	240.8	223.9	213.4
	Sheep	3 478.3	2 858.1	2 793.7
	Lambs	5 042.0	5 344.8	5 487.1
	Pigs	1 335.2	1 335.6	1 340.5
	Chickens	113 021.4	115 342.9	116 224.7

		Dec Qtr 2006	Sep Qtr 2007	Dec Qtr 2007
		tonnes	tonnes	tonnes
Meat produced
	Beef	557 020	530 388	528 400
	Veal	7 857	7 357	7 142
	Mutton	71 042	60 540	61 876
	Lamb	103 272	111 266	115 905
	Pig meat	95 543	96 552	97 142
	Chicken meat	201 334	203 708	204 299
Wool receivals		116 392	107 284	103 386

	Sep Qtr 2006	Jun Qtr 2007	Sep Qtr 2007
	ML	ML	ML
Whole milk intake by factories	2 524	2 318	2 340

Cattle slaughterings, Excluding calves - Trend

Sheep and lamb slaughterings, Trend

DECEMBER KEY POINTS


CATTLE SLAUGHTERED

• The trend estimate for cattle slaughtered remained steady in the December quarter 2007 at 2.0 million while the seasonally adjusted estimate rose by 2% to 2.0 million.

SHEEP SLAUGHTERED

• The trend estimate for sheep slaughtered fell by 2% in the December quarter 2007 to 2.8 million while the seasonally adjusted estimate rose by 2% to 2.9 million.

LAMBS SLAUGHTERED

• The trend estimate for lambs slaughtered rose by 3% in the December quarter 2007 to 5.5 million while the seasonally adjusted estimate remained steady at 5.5 million.

PIGS SLAUGHTERED

• The trend estimate for pigs slaughtered remained steady in the December quarter 2007 at 1.3 million while the seasonally adjusted estimate also remained steady at 1.3 million.

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER)	Release Date
March 2008	14 May 2008
June 2008	14 August 2008

CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

There are no changes in this issue.

INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Nigel Gibson on Hobart (03) 6222 5940.

SUMMARY COMMENTARY


CATTLE (EXCLUDING CALVES)

The trend estimate for the number of cattle slaughtered in December quarter 2007 remained steady at 2.0 million.

CALVES

The trend estimate for the number of calves slaughtered in December quarter 2007 fell by 5% to 213,000.

SHEEP AND LAMBS

In December quarter 2007, the trend estimate for the number of sheep slaughtered fell by 2% to 2.8 million. The number of lambs slaughtered rose by 3% to 5.5 million. Numbers were strengthened by producers reportedly having lambs ready for market earlier than usual.

PIGS

In December quarter 2007, the trend estimate for the number of pigs slaughtered remained steady at 1.3 million.

BEEF

In December quarter 2007, the trend estimate for beef production remained steady at 528,000 tonnes.

MUTTON AND LAMB

In December quarter 2007, the trend estimate for mutton production rose by 2% to 61,900 tonnes. The trend estimate for lamb production rose by 4% to 116,000 tonnes.

TOTAL RED MEAT

The trend estimate for red meat production rose marginally to 810,000 tonnes in December quarter 2007.

CHICKEN MEAT

The trend estimate for chicken meat production remained steady at 204,000 tonnes in December quarter 2007.

WHOLE MILK INTAKE BY FACTORIES

The trend estimate for whole milk intake by factories in September quarter 2007 rose marginally to 2.3 billion litres.

BROKERS AND DEALERS RECEIVALS OF TAXABLE WOOL

The trend estimate for wool receivals by brokers and dealers in December quarter 2007 fell by 4% to 103,000 tonnes.

EXPORTS OF LIVE SHEEP

Live sheep exports rose by 41% to 1.3 million in December quarter 2007. Gross value rose by 45% for the quarter, up to $91.1 million. Unit value rose by 3% to $71.06.

EXPORTS OF LIVE CATTLE

Live cattle exports fell by 36% to 139,000 in December quarter 2007. Gross value fell by 37% for the quarter, down to $86.6 million. Unit value fell by 2% to $624.64.