Estonian residents have started to consume more domestic meat
According to Statistics Estonia, 79% of the meat consumed in Estonia in 2020 was locally produced. This is the highest percentage in the last five years. In the case of beef, the situation is favourable, but not so in the case of poultry meat.
Last year, meat production in Estonia amounted to 82,700 tonnes, including 45,200 tonnes of pork, 22,300 tonnes of poultry meat and 11,900 tonnes of beef.
According to Ege Kirs, analyst at Statistics Estonia, the total production of meat increased by 5% compared to the previous year and has recovered from the low production level of 2017. “The production of poultry meat grew the most, by 10%, but there was also a 4% increase in beef production and 3% increase in pork production. At the same time, the number of bovine animals decreased and the number of dairy cows dropped to its lowest ever,” added Kirs.
Last year, 104,000 tonnes of meat was consumed in Estonia, which is 2% less than in 2019. The most popular is pork: 40 kg of pork was eaten per person in a year. Poultry meat consumption amounted to 27.2 kg per person, while sheep and goat meat consumption was under one kg per capita. In the last few years, beef consumption has slightly decreased again, but still 9.2 kg of beef per person is eaten in a year.
In 2014, of the meat consumed in Estonia, 90% was locally produced. Then, the level of meat self-sufficiency started to decline. A self-sufficiency level of less than 100% shows that some of the consumed meat is imported from other countries. Since 2018, the level of self-sufficiency started to rise again, and last year, it was at the following levels: 98% for beef, 85% for pork, 100% for sheep and goat meat and 62% for poultry meat.
The import of meat and meat contained in products declined by 10%. Fresh pork was imported the most from Germany, followed by Denmark and Poland. Beef arrived in Estonia primarily from Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. Sheep and goat meat were imported from New Zealand and Spain, poultry meat from Poland, Finland and Lithuania.
Statistics Estonia calculates the quantities of agricultural production consumed in Estonia based on production and export-import data. The level of self-sufficiency is found as the ratio of production to consumption. Meat includes also products made of meat, and the quantity of processed products is recalculated as the quantity of unprocessed meat using average coefficients. Meat also includes offal.
See also the agriculture section on our website.
More detailed data have been published in the statistical database.