France will be the largest producer of beef in the EU in the second half of 2026, but Ireland is set to see a decline in production to around 900,000 head, according to a new report.

Eurostat's new 2026 livestock production trends report suggests that the production of most types of livestock will decline this year.

It is forecast that in the second half of the year beef production levels will fall to 11.4 million head in the EU. This would be half a million head less than the same period in 2025 which equates to a decline of 4.2%.

Goat and sheep production in particular are expected to decline sharply this year.

Goat production could fall by 17.1% to 1.9 million head while sheep production could drop by 17.8% to 12.2 million head between the second half of 2025 and second half of 2026. 

But it could be the opposite scenario when it comes to pig production in the EU which could increase to 61.2 million head in the last quarter of 2026 - compared with the same quarter of 2025, which would equate to an increase of 3.2%.

Beef production

France is expected to account for 23.1% of the EU’s total beef production in the second half of 2026.

It is forecast that beef production in France will decline only slightly (-0.4%) to 2.63 million head between the second halves of 2025 and 2026. 

But that will not be the case when it comes to other key beef producing countries in Europe, including Ireland.

There is likely to be a small fall in production in Germany (-0.6% to 1.7 million head) but "a far sharper rate of decline" in Ireland, which is likely to fall by -5.2% to 900,000 head in the second half of 2026.

Meanwhile, Spain is the only key beef producer that is expected to increase beef - potentially up +2.7% to 1.1 million head.

According to Eurostat, the EU has a "substantial" livestock population.

Figures for the end of 2024 showed there were 132 million head of pigs, 72 million bovine animals, and 67 million sheep and goats.

But over the past two decades, livestock numbers across the EU have declined sharply.

The sharpest rate of decline has been seen primarily in cattle followed by sheep, goats and pigs.

Eurostat's new report published today (Wednesday, March 18) highlights that Spain is set to remain the largest producer of pigs and sheep while Greece is the biggest producer of goats.

It is forecast that Spain will produce 15.8 million pigs in the fourth quarter of 2026 - accounting for 25.7% of the EU total.

Spain will also remain the EU’s leading sheep producer in 2026, though output is forecast to fall dramatically by 40.4% to 2.3 million head in the second half of 2026. 

Greece is the EU’s leading producer of goatmeat and it is forecast that its production of goats will decline by 2.6% to 800,000 goats this year.