Cattle slaughter barely surpassed 40,000 head

July 18 public holiday was felt in last week’s slaughter activity. INAC reported that 40,051 cattle were processed in the week to July 19, about 1,100 fewer than the previous one and once again the lowest level of activity since Easter week, exactly three months ago. The return to operations at the Tacuarembó plant, which allowed Marfrig to run its four plants, was not enough to offset the holiday.

With several plants increasingly focusing on grainfed cattle, expectations are that this current week will see an increase in industrial activity, likely bringing slaughter numbers closer to 50,000 head.

Activity remains well above the same weeks last year. The annual increase was over 6,000 head, or 18%.

Compared to the previous week, the main drop was seen in the heifer category, down 22% to 5,028 head. One must go back to mid-April — Easter week — to find a lower heifer slaughter. Steer activity fell 3% week-on-week to 19,054 head, while cow slaughter rose 7% to 15,258 head.

The most active plants were Las Piedras (4,428), Tacuarembó (4,206), and Ontilcor (3,573). With its four plants running, Marfrig slaughtered 12,163 cattle; Minerva, in three plants, 7,161; and the Urgal family, in two plants, 6,948.

In the first 19 days of July, 117,263 cattle were slaughtered, more than 17,000 head (17%) above the same period last year. July will be the seventh consecutive month with an annual increase in cattle slaughter.