Horse meat, fresh or chilled production by country
World production of horse meat, fresh or chilled reached 747,206 t in 2024, up 8.0% over ten years. The largest producers were China (24.2%), Kazakhstan (22.9%), Mexico (9.5%), together 57% of the world total.
- World production, 2024
- 747,206 t
- 10-year change
- +8.0%
- Producing countries
- 56
- Largest producer
- China
World production, 1961–2024 (tonnes)
Map of horse meat, fresh or chilled production, 2024
Share of the world total. Small island states are not drawn at this scale.
Producers ranked, 2024
| # | Country | Tonnes | Share | 10-year change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China E | 180,716 | 24.2% | −7.3% |
| 2 | Kazakhstan | 170,918 | 22.9% | +85% |
| 3 | Mexico I | 70,664 | 9.46% | −13% |
| 4 | Mongolia | 61,158 | 8.18% | +107% |
| 5 | Russia I | 48,724 | 6.52% | −3.7% |
| 6 | Argentina | 22,304 | 2.98% | +9.6% |
| 7 | Brazil I | 22,234 | 2.98% | +0.7% |
| 8 | Australia I | 20,817 | 2.79% | −26% |
| 9 | Kyrgyzstan | 19,604 | 2.62% | −1.5% |
| 10 | Canada I | 18,554 | 2.48% | −19% |
| 11 | Uruguay E | 10,251 | 1.37% | +24% |
| 12 | Chile | 7,818 | 1.05% | +3.5% |
| 13 | Spain | 7,739 | 1.04% | −33% |
| 14 | Senegal I | 7,089 | 0.95% | −1.5% |
| 15 | Uzbekistan I | 6,395 | 0.86% | +60% |
| 16 | United Kingdom E | 5,775 | 0.77% | +24% |
| 17 | Ukraine | 5,700 | 0.76% | −52% |
| 18 | Haiti I | 4,901 | 0.66% | −9.4% |
| 19 | Japan I | 4,092 | 0.55% | −24% |
| 20 | Colombia E | 3,344 | 0.45% | +38% |
| 21 | Mali I | 3,130 | 0.42% | +19% |
| 22 | Guatemala I | 2,392 | 0.32% | −2.5% |
| 23 | Morocco I | 1,779 | 0.24% | +1.9% |
| 24 | Paraguay E | 1,701 | 0.23% | +28% |
| 25 | Germany | 1,700 | 0.23% | −27% |
| 26 | Indonesia | 1,329 | 0.18% | −43% |
| 27 | Vietnam I | 1,252 | 0.17% | −7.9% |
| 28 | South Africa I | 1,236 | 0.17% | −7.8% |
| 29 | Chad I | 1,199 | 0.16% | +145% |
| 30 | Iceland | 982 | 0.13% | −18% |
| 31 | Niger E | 803 | 0.11% | −7.0% |
| 32 | Turkey I | 758 | 0.10% | −41% |
| 33 | Tunisia I | 558 | 0.07% | +3.3% |
| 34 | Philippines I | 532 | 0.07% | −24% |
| 35 | Honduras I | 497 | 0.07% | −6.4% |
| 36 | Mauritania I | 447 | 0.06% | −32% |
| 37 | Sweden | 340 | 0.05% | −66% |
| 38 | Switzerland | 288 | 0.04% | −58% |
| 39 | Georgia I | 275 | 0.04% | +206% |
| 40 | Moldova E | 230 | 0.03% | +153% |
| 41 | Malaysia I | 206 | 0.03% | +24% |
| 42 | Belarus | 200 | 0.03% | −75% |
| 43 | Finland | 181 | 0.02% | −60% |
| 44 | Burkina Faso I | 168 | 0.02% | −52% |
| 45 | Cameroon I | 147 | 0.02% | −43% |
| 46 | Cuba I | 125 | 0.02% | −35% |
| 47 | Lesotho I | 70 | 0.01% | +56% |
| 48 | Papua New Guinea I | 44 | 0.01% | −2.2% |
| 49 | Serbia I | 44 | 0.01% | −37% |
| 50 | Jamaica I | 39 | 0.01% | −11% |
| 51 | Algeria E | 14 | 0.00% | +7.7% |
| 52 | Portugal | 14 | 0.00% | −97% |
| 53 | Norway | 9 | 0.00% | −94% |
| 54 | Vanuatu I | 9 | 0.00% | −65% |
| 55 | Czechia | 5 | 0.00% | −92% |
| 56 | Madagascar I | 5 | 0.00% | −17% |
E = estimated by FAO, I = imputed by FAO, X = from an external organisation; other figures are official.
How concentrated is production?
The largest producer, China, accounts for 24.2% of the world total in 2024; the five largest for 71.2% and the ten largest for 85.1%.
| Year | Top 5 share | Top 10 share | Countries with data |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 55.9% | 77.7% | 74 |
| 2005 | 59.2% | 78.1% | 76 |
| 2010 | 62.1% | 79.2% | 72 |
| 2015 | 66.1% | 81.9% | 74 |
| 2020 | 72.1% | 85.9% | 59 |
| 2024 | 71.2% | 85.1% | 56 |
By continent, 2024
| Continent | Production | Share of world | Share in 2014 | 10-year change | Countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia | 447,235 t | 59.9% | 50.9% | +27% | 12 |
| North and Central America | 97,172 t | 13.0% | 16.6% | −15% | 7 |
| Europe | 71,931 t | 9.6% | 17.1% | −39% | 15 |
| South America | 67,652 t | 9.1% | 9.0% | +9.1% | 6 |
| Oceania | 20,870 t | 2.8% | 4.1% | −27% | 3 |
| Africa | 16,645 t | 2.2% | 2.3% | +3.2% | 13 |
Sums of country figures; the world total also includes countries without a continent assignment, so shares may not add up to 100%.
Fastest growing and declining producers, 2014–2024
Countries with at least 0.5% of world production in 2024, change over ten years.
Growing
| Mongolia | 61,158 t | +107% |
| Kazakhstan | 170,918 t | +85% |
| Uzbekistan | 6,395 t | +60% |
| United Kingdom | 5,775 t | +24% |
| Uruguay | 10,251 t | +24% |
Long-term trend, 1961–2024
- Average growth per year, 1961–2024
- +0.5%
- Average growth per year, last 10 years
- +0.8%
- Record year
- 2022 846,926 t
- Largest yearly fall
- 2023 −8.8%
| Decade | Average per year | vs previous decade |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s (1961–1969) | 536,217 t | — |
| 1970s | 521,695 t | −2.7% |
| 1980s | 485,357 t | −7.0% |
| 1990s | 657,953 t | +36% |
| 2000s | 728,521 t | +11% |
| 2010s | 706,089 t | −3.1% |
| 2020s (2020–2024) | 794,710 t | +13% |
Production per person, 2024
World production of horse meat, fresh or chilled was 0.09 kg per person in 2024. The highest figures, among countries with at least 1 million inhabitants:
| # | Country | kg per person | Production |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mongolia | 17.6 | 61,158 t |
| 2 | Kazakhstan | 8.30 | 170,918 t |
| 3 | Uruguay | 3.03 | 10,251 t |
| 4 | Kyrgyzstan | 2.73 | 19,604 t |
| 5 | Australia | 0.78 | 20,817 t |
| 6 | Mexico | 0.54 | 70,664 t |
| 7 | Argentina | 0.49 | 22,304 t |
| 8 | Canada | 0.47 | 18,554 t |
| 9 | Haiti | 0.42 | 4,901 t |
| 10 | Chile | 0.40 | 7,818 t |
Production divided by population (FAOSTAT population estimates, 2024). Production per person is not consumption: countries export, import and use crops for feed, processing and industry.
International trade, 2024
- World exports
- 81,996 t
- Export value
- USD 382 m
- Exports as share of production
- 11%
- Average export price
- 4.66 USD/kg
Mongolia was the largest exporter with 26.1% of the quantity reported by exporting countries; Italy was the largest importer with 27.3%. World exports fell 30% over ten years.
World exports, 2000–2024 (tonnes)
Largest exporters
| # | Country | Tonnes | Share | Value | USD/kg | 10-year change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mongolia | 21,392 | 26.1% | USD 53.9 m | 2.52 | +618% |
| 2 | Belgium | 8,385 | 10.2% | USD 57.9 m | 6.90 | −54% |
| 3 | Poland | 8,117 | 9.9% | USD 49.7 m | 6.12 | −21% |
| 4 | Netherlands | 8,115 | 9.9% | USD 44.3 m | 5.45 | +52% |
| 5 | Argentina | 7,833 | 9.6% | USD 26.4 m | 3.37 | −51% |
| 6 | Uruguay | 6,208 | 7.6% | USD 32.4 m | 5.21 | +9.6% |
| 7 | Spain | 5,821 | 7.1% | USD 32.8 m | 5.63 | −28% |
| 8 | Romania | 4,839 | 5.9% | USD 22.5 m | 4.64 | +55% |
| 9 | Brazil | 2,352 | 2.9% | USD 10.6 m | 4.52 | +11% |
| 10 | France | 2,229 | 2.7% | USD 17.2 m | 7.71 | −49% |
Largest importers
| # | Country | Tonnes | Share | Value | USD/kg | 10-year change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | 23,237 | 27.3% | USD 142 m | 6.12 | −2.6% |
| 2 | China | 22,035 | 25.9% | USD 62.5 m | 2.83 | +1,429% |
| 3 | Belgium | 12,036 | 14.2% | USD 60.6 m | 5.04 | −44% |
| 4 | Netherlands | 7,128 | 8.4% | USD 35.6 m | 5.00 | +58% |
| 5 | France | 5,792 | 6.8% | USD 36.8 m | 6.35 | −58% |
| 6 | Japan | 4,677 | 5.5% | USD 35.4 m | 7.57 | +4.4% |
| 7 | Kazakhstan | 2,617 | 3.1% | USD 6.8 m | 2.60 | −45% |
| 8 | Switzerland | 1,712 | 2.0% | USD 24.9 m | 14.52 | −50% |
| 9 | Russia | 1,068 | 1.3% | USD 2.2 m | 2.05 | −94% |
| 10 | Vietnam | 907 | 1.1% | USD 2.7 m | 2.93 | — |
FAOSTAT detailed trade data (Crops and livestock products trade, release of 23 July 2026): quantities in tonnes and values in current US dollars as reported by countries; exports include re-exports. Shares are of the total reported by all exporting or importing countries. World exports and imports do not match because of timing, valuation (exports FOB, imports CIF) and gaps in reporting. Processed products such as juices, dried or canned goods are separate items.
Questions and answers
Which country produces the most horse meat, fresh or chilled?
China was the largest producer in 2024 with 180,716 t, 24.2% of the world total, according to FAOSTAT.
What is the world production of horse meat, fresh or chilled?
World production was 747,206 t in 2024, +8.0% compared with 2014.
Which countries produce the most horse meat, fresh or chilled?
In 2024: China (180,716 t, 24.2%), Kazakhstan (170,918 t, 22.9%), Mexico (70,664 t, 9.5%), Mongolia (61,158 t, 8.2%), Russia (48,724 t, 6.5%). Together they account for 71.2% of the world total.
Which country exports the most horse meat, fresh or chilled?
Mongolia exported 21,392 t in 2024, 26.1% of reported world exports, worth USD 53.9 m, according to FAOSTAT trade data.
Which country imports the most horse meat, fresh or chilled?
Italy imported 23,237 t in 2024, 27.3% of reported world imports.
Where does this data come from?
Production and area figures are from FAOSTAT, the statistics database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (dataset Crops and livestock products, release of 23 December 2025). Shares, rankings, changes and averages are calculated by Husfarm.
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About the data
- Figures are production in tonnes as reported to or estimated by FAO for each calendar year; the latest year is 2024.
- Letters next to a country mark figures that are not official national data: E estimated by FAO, I imputed by FAO (filled in by a statistical model), X taken from an external organisation. Treat them as approximate.
- Shares are relative to the FAO world total; ten-year changes compare 2024 with 2014; average growth per year is the compound annual rate between the two years.
- Country series on Husfarm start in 2000; the world series starts in 1961.
Download CSV All countries and years: production and FAO flag.
How to cite: FAO (2025). FAOSTAT: Crops and livestock products — Horse meat, fresh or chilled. Retrieved via Husfarm, https://husfarm.com/production/horse-meat/. Licence CC BY 4.0.
Source: FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Crops and livestock products. Accessed on 4 November 2026. fao.org/faostat. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Charts, rankings and changes calculated by Husfarm.