FAO outlook for meat consumption, production and trade
All indications are for continued growth in global demand for livestock products. The bulk of the increase is projected to be in developing countries. The largest numerical increases are projected for Latin America and the Caribbean and the East and South Asia and the Pacific regions, but a doubling – albeit from a low level – is foreseen for sub-Saharan Africa. The model projects that growing demand will lead to increasing livestock populations, with the global population of cattle increasing from 1.5 billion to 2.6 billion and that of goats and sheep from 1.7 billion to 2.7 billion between 2000 and 2050.