SEOUL, – The number of beef cattle edged down on-year in the third quarter of 2023, data showed Friday, as farmers reduced the number of cows raised to deal with falling prices.

South Korean farms raised 3.71 million beef cattle as of end-September, down 1.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The price of cattle has fallen in line with a long-term excess supply, as the cattle population has been on a constant rise, reaching an all-time yearly high of 3.73 million at end-2022.

The number of milk cows also fell 1 percent on-year to 386,000 in the third quarter.

The number of ducks dropped 4.2 percent on-year to 8.81 million amid the fall in productivity, according to the agency.

But the country saw 11.39 million pigs raised in the third quarter, up 0.6 percent on-year, which was affected by a larger demand for pork during the Chuseok holiday in 2022 that began earlier than this year in accordance with the lunar calendar.

The number of broiler chickens inched up 0.4 percent on-year to 89.85 million, the data showed.

Source: Yonhap News Agency