MARCH KEY FIGURES

		Mar Qtr 2010	Dec Qtr 2010	Mar Qtr 2011
TREND ESTIMATES		'000	'000	'000
Number Slaughtered(a)
	Cattle (excl.calves)	1 838	1 863	1 827
	Calves	235	184	183
	Sheep	1 698	1 434	1 352
	Lambs	4 727	4 544	4 383
	Pigs	1 146	1 159	1 149
	Chickens	117 064	137 625	138 514
(a) A new methodology and revised definitions have been adopted for producing estimates of livestock slaughtering and meat production. For further details refer to the Explanatory Notes.

		Mar Qtr 2010	Dec Qtr 2010	Mar Qtr 2011
		tonnes	tonnes	tonnes
Meat produced(a)
	Beef	507 421	526 611	522 559
	Veal	14 213	11 255	11 795
	Mutton	37 799	32 768	30 817
	Lamb	101 327	98 235	95 527
	Pig meat	83 334	85 233	84 370
	Chicken meat	209 593	254 528	258 752
Wool receivals		nya	nya	nya
nya not yet available
(a) A new methodology and revised definitions have been adopted for producing estimates of livestock slaughtering and meat production. For further details refer to the Explanatory Notes.

	Dec Qtr 2009	Sep Qtr 2010	Dec Qtr 2010
	ML	ML	ML
Whole milk intake by factories	2 230	2 282	2 237

MARCH KEY POINTS

• In the March quarter 2011, sheep slaughterings fell 6%.
• Lamb slaughterings fell 4% to 4.4 million in the March quarter 2011.
• The estimate for live sheep exports in the March quarter 2011 fell 37%.
• The export estimate for cattle fell 32% to 148 thousand in the March quarter.

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER)	Release Date
June 2011	22 August 2011

INTRODUCTION

This publication presents statistics on livestock slaughterings, meat production, whole milk intake by factories, market milk sales by factories, receivals of taxable wool by brokers and dealers, exports of live sheep and cattle and exports of fresh, chilled, frozen and processed meat. It also includes seasonally adjusted and trend estimates of slaughtering, meat production, whole milk intake and wool receivals. More detailed information can be obtained by contacting the Australian Bureau of Statistics or by referring to the monthly publication Livestock and Meat, Australia (cat. no. 7218.0.55.001).


CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

Final estimates for wool receivals for the March quarter 2011 are not yet available. These data, including updated seasonally adjusted and trend estimates, for the March quarter 2011 will be published in the coming weeks.

A coverage exercise has been undertaken to review the quality of the sampling frame for the Poultry and Game Birds Collection. Although the updated Poultry estimates will be reflective of the improved sampling frame, the frame updates have had a negligible impact on the associated time series.


CHANGES IN FUTURE ISSUES

The ABS is reviewing the way estimates are disseminated in Livestock Products, Australia (cat. no. 7215.0.). The aim of the review is to ensure information is communicated in a relevant and accessible manner. Further details will be available in forthcoming issues of this publication.


EFFECT OF QUEENSLAND FLOODS

Extensive flooding began in late December 2010 in Queensland and was more wide spread in both Queensland and other states in January 2011. Any impact on these estimates that is directly attributable to the floods cannot be determined.


INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.