Cows are at a cow farm in Boeun County, North Chungcheong Province, in this Feb. 16, 2017 file photo. Yonhap

The number of beef cattle fell on-year in the first quarter as farmers reduced the number of cows raised in order to deal with falling prices, the statistics agency said Friday.

Korean farms raised 3.49 million beef cattle as of end-March, down 3.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The price of cattle has fallen in line with a long-term excess supply, as the cattle population had risen to reach an all-time yearly high of 3.73 million at end-2022.

The number of milk cows inched down 0.7 percent on-year to 382,000 in the first quarter of 2024.

The number of pigs also declined 1.1 percent to 10.99 million in the first quarter.

But the number of ducks jumped 25.4 percent on-year to 6.05 million and that of broiler chickens added 3.2 percent on-year to 76.03 million, data showed. (Yonhap)