Live Cattle Exports Fall
IRELAND - The Irish Food Board, An Bord Bia has reported a 16 per cent drop in live cattle exports up to the end of November last year.
2 January 2008
1 minute read
* "Bluetongue movement restrictions in Northern Europe has affected the demand." |
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Bord Bia Market Monitor
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Exports fell by 38,000 head to 204,000, according to figures published in the Market Monitor.
Bord Bia puts the fall down to rising feed costs, lower cattle prices and movement restrictions because of animal diseases.
"Bluetongue movement restrictions in Northern Europe has also affected the demand, as German calves, which for the first half of the year were 40 per cent cheaper than last, became more widely available for Dutch producers," the Market Monitor says.
The main fall this year has been in calf exports which were 22 per cent lower than in 2006 at 87,000.
The number of calve's shipped to the Netherlands fell by 10,000 to 41,000 head, while the number exported to Spain, France and Belgium were also lower.
The rise in the price of dairy powder and whey put increased costs on the veal industry, which also felt the effects of a rise in poultry consumption as confidence was regained following avian influenza.
Veal production in the EU is predicted to be two per cent lower than last at 761,000 tonnes.
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