PRODUCTION OF MUTTON IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA COMPARED WITH THE OTHER FORMER YUGOSLAV COUNTRIES
Keywords:
mutton, lamb, breeding, productionAbstract
Sheep farming holds a significant position in livestock production, particularly thriving in hilly and mountainous areas. Compared to other domestic animals, sheep have a notable advantage in converting food into meat. Unlike non-ruminants, sheep meet most of their nutritional needs through grazing. Proper nutrition is a crucial factor influencing meat production in sheep. Lamb meat production primarily targets European markets, generating substantial revenue for the country.
This paper aims to analyze mutton production from 2012 to 2022 in Republic of North Macedonia compared to other former Yugoslav countries, including Republic of Serbia, Republic of Montenegro, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Croatia, and Republic of Slovenia. Data for this research was sourced from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) website. During this period, Republic of Serbia emerged as the largest mutton producer among these countries, averaging 28,862.09 tons, while Republic of Montenegro was the smallest producer with 1,115.48 tons. The average mutton production in other former Yugoslav countries during this time was as follows: Republic of Croatia produced 5,284.09 tons, Republic of North Macedonia produced 3,936.45 tons, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina produced 1,399.34 tons, and Republic of Slovenia produced 1,374.82 tons.
To enhance mutton production, it is recommended that Agriculture and Rural Development propose long-term measures such as improving farming conditions, introducing food safety standards, enhancing animal welfare standards, and building and promoting a lamb meat brand
References
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. FAOSTAT statistical database. Retrieved May 29, 2025, from http://www.fao.org/faostat/.
Farrell, L. J., Tozer, P. R., Kenyon, P. R., Cranston, L. M., & Ramilan, T. (2021). Producing Higher Value Wool through a Transition from Romney to Merino Crossbred: Constraining Sheep Feed Demand. Agriculture,
(10), 920. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11100920.
Farrell, L., Creighton, P., Bohan, A., McGovern, F., & McHugh, N. (2022). Bio-economic modelling of sheep meat production systems with varying flock litter size using field data. Animal, 16(10), 100640. https://doi.org/
1016/j.animal.2022.100640.
Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. (2024). Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2021-2027. Retrieved May 29, 2025, from https://cdn.agroklub.com/upload/documents/04-strategija-prr-fbih-12-1-2024-javne-konsultacije.pdf.
Law on the Quality of Agricultural Products ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia" No. 140/10)
McGovern, F. M., McHugh, N., Fitzmaurice, S., Pabiou, T., McDermott, K., Wall, E., & Fetherstone, N. (2020). Phenotypic factors associated with lamb live weight and carcass composition measurements in an Irish multi-breed sheep population1. Translational Animal Science, 4(4). https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txaa206.
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Republic of Croatia. (2022). Strategic plan of the Common Agricultural Policy of the Republic of Croatia. Retrieved May 29, 2025, from https://poljoprivreda.gov.hr/User
DocsImages/dokumenti/Strategije/Strategic%20Plan%20CAP%20Croatia.pdf.
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Republic of Slovenia. (2022). Strategic plan of the common agricultural policy 2023-2027 (SN CAP 2023-2027) for Slovenia. Retrieved May 27, 2024, from https://www.gov.si/assets/ministrstva/MKGP/Dokumenti/kmetijstvo/strategski-nacrti/SN-CAP-2023-27pdf.
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of North Macedonia. (2021). National strategy for agriculture and rural development for the period 2021-2027. Retrieved May 29, 2025, from https://www.mzsv.gov.mk/files/National-Strategy-2021-2027.pdf.
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Republic of Montenegro. (2023). Strategy for the development of agriculture and rural areas 2023–2028. Retrieved May 29, 2025, from https://www.gov.me/do
kumenta/strategija-razvoja-poljoprivrede-i-ruralnih-podrucja.
Rulebook on the Method of Determining Categories of Sheep and Goats and Classification of Carcasses of Sheep and Goats, Specifically Lambs and Kids, with Evaluation of the Slaughter Line ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia" No. 18/12).
Strategy of agriculture and rural development of the Republic of Serbia for the period 2014-2024. (2014). "Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia", number 85 of August 12, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2025, from https://www.pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs/eli/rep/sgrs/vlada/strategija/2014/85/1
Teagasc, (2021). National farm survey. Retrieved 28 February 2022 from https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website
/publications/2020/NFS2019-Sheep-Enterprise-Factsheet.pdf.
