Latest Statistics Poland (GUS) data on livestock slaughter at slaughterhouses and abattoirs show the current scale of Poland’s meat industry—one of the country’s largest agricultural and export sectors. In April 2026, 130.2 million poultry birds, 1.54 million pigs and 153,400 head of cattle excluding calves were slaughtered, alongside smaller numbers of sheep, horses, goats and calves. The total chilled carcass weight across all species was approximately 470,300 tonnes.
Data period: April 2026 (with a monthly series for January–April 2026) · Statistics Poland data on slaughter at slaughterhouses and abattoirs
Headcount and tonnage reveal a different production structure
Poultry overwhelmingly dominates the number of animals slaughtered, but headcount alone does not reflect the production structure measured by tonnage. In April, poultry accounted for 274,700 tonnes of chilled carcass weight, or around 58% of the total. Pork contributed 149,800 tonnes—almost one-third of the overall tonnage—while beef from cattle excluding calves accounted for 44,900 tonnes. The remaining species made only a marginal contribution.
| Species | Number of animals | Live weight (tonnes) | Chilled carcass weight (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poultry | 130,220,923 | 367,678 | 274,683 |
| Pigs | 1,541,784 | 195,546 | 149,828 |
| Cattle (excluding calves) | 153,383 | 93,052 | 44,924 |
| Horses | 1,788 | 1,060 | 639 |
| Sheep | 8,429 | 333 | 149 |
| Calves | 1,483 | 197 | 111 |
| Goats | 369 | 14 | 9 |
Pork and beef down, poultry stable
Compared with March, slaughter tonnage for pigs and cattle declined markedly in April. Chilled carcass weight for pigs fell from 196,400 tonnes to 149,800 tonnes, while that for cattle excluding calves decreased from 53,800 tonnes to 44,900 tonnes. Poultry tonnage remained broadly stable at 274,700 tonnes, compared with 275,000 tonnes a month earlier. As the dataset does not include figures for 2025, it is not possible to determine whether these changes are seasonal or more persistent.
Ritual slaughter: an important export segment
Ritual slaughter is a distinct and commercially important segment, linked primarily to supplying halal and kosher markets. In the April 2026 data, it is recorded for cattle and poultry, while no such activity was reported in the other main categories. Ritual slaughter accounted for 10.8% of all cattle slaughtered and 12.4% of all poultry. Among turkeys, the share was substantially higher at 30.7%.
In April 2026, ritual slaughter covered 16,600 head of cattle and more than 16.2 million poultry birds, including 15.5 million broiler chickens and 0.69 million turkeys.
Some of the smallest categories, including geese, rabbits, ostriches and guinea fowl, are covered by statistical confidentiality and are therefore excluded from the breakdown.
What this means for the industry
- Poultry dominated slaughter by headcount—at almost 99%—but accounted for around 58% of chilled carcass weight.
- Pork represented almost one-third of tonnage and beef nearly one-tenth, underlining the importance of these segments to total production.
- April brought a decline in pig and cattle slaughter tonnage compared with March, while poultry remained stable; without year-on-year data, the nature of this change cannot be determined.
- Ritual slaughter of cattle and poultry remains relevant for producers serving halal and kosher markets.
Source: Statistics Poland (GUS), “Livestock slaughter at slaughterhouses and abattoirs” (monthly data for 2026, available through April 2026). Some data are covered by statistical confidentiality. Own analysis based on Statistics Poland data.
