Beef and Buffalo Meat, primary — Production in South Africa
South Africa: Beef and Buffalo Meat, primary — Production was 1.10 million t in 2024. ▲ Rising
Beef and Buffalo Meat, primary — Production in South Africa, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in t.
Analysis
The most recent figure for beef and buffalo meat, primary — production in South Africa is 1.10 million t, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
That represents a change of up 6.7% on the previous year and up 10.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, beef and buffalo meat, primary — production in South Africa peaked at 1.10 million t in 2024 and was at its lowest, 355,000 t, in 1968.
South Africa ranks 15th of 190 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Beef and Buffalo Meat, primary — Production in South Africa, year by year
| Year | t | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 390,310 t | — |
| 1962 | 391,154 t | +0.2% |
| 1963 | 429,000 t | +9.7% |
| 1964 | 453,000 t | +5.6% |
| 1965 | 450,000 t | -0.7% |
| 1966 | 430,000 t | -4.4% |
| 1967 | 378,000 t | -12.1% |
| 1968 | 355,000 t | -6.1% |
| 1969 | 390,000 t | +9.9% |
| 1970 | 388,176 t | -0.5% |
| 1971 | 415,957 t | +7.2% |
| 1972 | 466,552 t | +12.2% |
| 1973 | 488,394 t | +4.7% |
| 1974 | 527,036 t | +7.9% |
| 1975 | 515,035 t | -2.3% |
| 1976 | 508,549 t | -1.3% |
| 1977 | 543,690 t | +6.9% |
| 1978 | 588,683 t | +8.3% |
| 1979 | 642,044 t | +9.1% |
| 1980 | 584,678 t | -8.9% |
| 1981 | 542,000 t | -7.3% |
| 1982 | 582,000 t | +7.4% |
| 1983 | 588,000 t | +1.0% |
| 1984 | 620,000 t | +5.4% |
| 1985 | 650,000 t | +4.8% |
| 1986 | 604,000 t | -7.1% |
| 1987 | 596,000 t | -1.3% |
| 1988 | 545,000 t | -8.6% |
| 1989 | 542,000 t | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 609,000 t | +12.4% |
| 1991 | 681,000 t | +11.8% |
| 1992 | 720,500 t | +5.8% |
| 1993 | 658,000 t | -8.7% |
| 1994 | 557,000 t | -15.3% |
| 1995 | 523,000 t | -6.1% |
| 1996 | 480,000 t | -8.2% |
| 1997 | 789,000 t | +64.4% |
| 1998 | 522,000 t | -33.8% |
| 1999 | 558,000 t | +6.9% |
| 2000 | 582,000 t | +4.3% |
| 2001 | 572,000 t | -1.7% |
| 2002 | 579,000 t | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 635,000 t | +9.7% |
| 2004 | 683,000 t | +7.6% |
| 2005 | 746,000 t | +9.2% |
| 2006 | 832,000 t | +11.5% |
| 2007 | 829,000 t | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 798,000 t | -3.7% |
| 2009 | 803,000 t | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 897,000 t | +11.7% |
| 2011 | 878,000 t | -2.1% |
| 2012 | 875,000 t | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 953,107 t | +8.9% |
| 2014 | 1.00 million t | +5.0% |
| 2015 | 1.07 million t | +7.2% |
| 2016 | 1.09 million t | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 1.01 million t | -6.9% |
| 2018 | 1.00 million t | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 1.04 million t | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 1.04 million t | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 1.05 million t | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 1.01 million t | -4.3% |
| 2023 | 1.03 million t | +2.4% |
| 2024 | 1.10 million t | +6.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 407,385 t | 355,000 t | 453,000 t | 9 |
| 1970s | 508,412 t | 388,176 t | 642,044 t | 10 |
| 1980s | 585,368 t | 542,000 t | 650,000 t | 10 |
| 1990s | 609,750 t | 480,000 t | 789,000 t | 10 |
| 2000s | 705,900 t | 572,000 t | 832,000 t | 10 |
| 2010s | 982,036 t | 875,000 t | 1.09 million t | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.05 million t | 1.01 million t | 1.10 million t | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More agriculture & rural data for South Africa
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 7.11 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0283 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 186.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.812 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3618 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture share gdp 2.83 (2025)
- Value added in the agricultural sector as of gdp vs gdp per capita 2.83 (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is beef and buffalo meat, primary — production in South Africa?
- Beef and buffalo meat, primary — production in South Africa was 1.10 million t in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest beef and buffalo meat, primary — production recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.10 million t in 2024.
- What is the lowest beef and buffalo meat, primary — production recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 355,000 t in 1968.
- How does South Africa rank for beef and buffalo meat, primary — production?
- South Africa ranks 15th out of 190 countries with data for 2024.
- Is beef and buffalo meat, primary — production rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Beef and Buffalo Meat, primary — Production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
Crop and livestock statistics are recorded for 278 products, covering the following categories: 1) CROPS PRIMARY: Cereals, Citrus Fruit, Fibre Crops, Fruit, Oil Crops, Oil Crops and Cakes in Oil Equivalent, Pulses, Roots and Tubers, Sugar Crops, Treenuts and Vegetables. Data are expressed in terms of area harvested, production quantity and yield. Cereals: Area and production data on cereals relate to crops harvested for dry grain only. Cereal crops harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed or silage or used for grazing are therefore excluded. 2) CROPS PROCESSED: Beer of barley; Cotton lint; Cottonseed; Margarine, short; Molasses; Oil, coconut (copra); Oil, cottonseed; Oil, groundnut; Oil, linseed; Oil, maize; Oil, olive, virgin; Oil, palm; Oil, palm kernel; Oil, rapeseed; Oil, safflower; Oil, sesame; Oil, soybean; Oil, sunflower; Palm kernels; Sugar Raw Centrifugal; Wine. 3) LIVE ANIMALS: Animals live n.e.s.; Asses; Beehives; Buffaloes; Camelids, other; Camels; Cattle; Chickens; Ducks; Geese and guinea fowls; Goats; Horses; Mules; Pigeons, other birds; Pigs; Rabbits and hares; Rodents, other; Sheep; Turkeys. 4) LIVESTOCK PRIMARY: Beeswax; Eggs (various types); Hides buffalo, fresh; Hides, cattle, fresh; Honey, natural; Meat (ass, bird nes, buffalo, camel, cattle, chicken, duck, game, goat, goose and guinea fowl, horse, mule, Meat nes, meat other camelids, Meat other rodents, pig, rabbit, sheep, turkey); Milk (buffalo, camel, cow, goat, sheep); Offals, nes; Silk-worm cocoons, reelable; Skins (goat, sheep); Snails, not sea; Wool, greasy. 5) LIVESTOCK PROCESSED: Butter (of milk from sheep, goat, buffalo, cow); Cheese (of milk from goat, buffalo, sheep, cow milk); Cheese of skimmed cow milk; Cream fresh; Ghee (cow and buffalo milk); Lard; Milk (dry buttermilk, skimmed condensed, skimmed cow, skimmed dried, skimmed evaporated, whole condensed, whole dried, whole evaporated); Silk raw; Tallow; Whey (condensed and dry); Yoghurt.