The Chilean meat industry reported a complex performance during the fourth quarter of 2025, marked by a significant downturn in the beef sector and a sharp collapse in turkey production, partially offset by a robust expansion in the broiler industry.
According to the latest Fairs and Slaughterhouses bulletin released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), beef carcass production decreased by 7.4% year-on-year between October and December 2025, falling to 46,185 tons. This decline was driven by an 8.7% drop in cattle slaughter, which accounted for 173,190 head processed for human consumption during the period.
The livestock auction market mirrored this downward trend, with 222,465 head of cattle traded at fairs, representing a 2.2% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
The poultry industry presented the most polarizing results of the quarter. Broiler production emerged as the primary growth driver, increasing by 7.6% year-on-year. Nationwide, over 79.4 million units were processed, yielding 195,641 tons of meat.
Conversely, the turkey sector experienced a near-total standstill. Production plummeted by 83.1% in terms of processed units, leading to an 88.1% decrease in meat output, which fell to a mere 1,649 tons for the quarter.
The pork and sheep sectors remained relatively stable, showing marginal growth in output despite lower trading volumes at auctions.
- Pork:Â Slaughter increased slightly by 0.2%, with nearly 1.4 million head processed, resulting in 147,456 tons of carcass meat. However, live pig trades at auctions fell by 9.2%.
- Sheep:Â Meat production rose by 2.7% to 466 tons, supported by a 0.8% increase in slaughter. Despite higher production, the auctioning of live sheep saw a sharp year-on-year contraction of 13.9%.
