The number of cattle in Latvia dropped by 10,500 or 2.6 %, of which the number of dairy cows fell by 5,900 or 3.9 %.
A significant increase was recorded in the number of poultry – of 459,300 or 9.3 %.
In 2018, compared to 2017, the number of exported live cattle increased by 11,300 head or 23.1 %. Calves aged under 8 months constituted 32 % of the total number of cattle exported. Number of imported cattle fell by 1,500 or 26 %.
Compared to 2017, exports of live pigs increased by 48,500 thousand or 26.9 %. The number of imported pigs fell by 5,800 thousand or 20 %.
In 2018, 982,90 tonnes of milk (incl. goat milk) were produced, which is 17,200 thousand tonnes or 1.7 % fewer than in 2017. The decline in milk output was influenced by the reduction in dairy cow numbers as average milk yield per dairy cow rose by 89 kg or 1.4 % reaching 6,614 kg annually.