SEOUL– The numbers of beef cattle and chickens raised in South Korea rose in the third quarter from a year earlier, data showed Thursday, amid the recovering demand following eased social distancing rules.
The number of beef cattle came to 3.7 million over the July-September period, up 2.4 percent on-year, according to the data from Statistics Korea.
The increase also came as more farms raised calves as their market price has been climbing over the past two years.
The number of broiler chickens rose 6.9 percent over the period to hit 89.4 million, while those of layer chickens went up 7.3 percent to 75.8 million. The recovery came after the country was struck by a bird flu outbreak last year.
The agency said the increase in the number of chickens also came as regional festivals also resumed following eased social distancing rules, coupled with the rising prices of eggs.
The number of ducks jumped 22.1 percent to hit 9.19 million, while that of milk cows fell 2.6 percent to 389,000, due to rising feed costs.
The number of pigs edged down 1.2 percent on-year to 11.3 million in the third quarter, the data added.
Source: Yonhap News Agency