According to figures seen by FarmIreland.ie cattle supplies in Ireland could be 120,000 head higher in 2017 at 1.75m on the back of increased calving’s from Ireland’s expanding dairy sector.
The figures which were presented by Bord Bia at last week’s Beef Forum also show that the beef kill in 2016 is now estimated to be close to 1.64m head up as much as 80,000 on 2015. To date, in 2016 Irish cattle supplies are up 5.1pc or 68,500 head, according to the Bord Bia figures.
Bord Bia also presented the following figures on latest cattle numbers on Irish farms compared to 2015 as of September 1:
Current male cattle numbers
0-12 month + 44,000
12-24 are +71,000 head
24- 36 -24,000
Current female cattle numbers
0-12 +13,000
12-24 +51,000
24-36 +3,000
Cattle supplies at Irish export meat plants for the week ending November 12 totalled over 34,000 head which was 7pc higher compared to the corresponding week last year.
Cumulatively, supplies of young bulls are up 29pc compared to the equivalent period in 2015 while cows are up 10pc on 2015 numbers.
Heifers are up 2pc while steers are on a par with year previous levels. Total year to date supply at export meat plants is up 5pc or over 68,000 head at around 1.42m head.
Demand
Increased beef supplies come as exports to Ireland’s most important beef market continue to fall in the wake of the the UK’s Brexit vote.
During September 2016, the Livestock and Meat Commission in Northern Ireland says a total of 14,356t of beef were imported by the UK from Ireland, a 13pc reduction from the corresponding month in 2015 when 16,499t of beef were imported.
It says a narrowing price differential between the two regions due to weakening sterling and increased domestic supplies in the UK will have been strong contributors to this decline in trade levels.
Ireland continues to be the biggest source of beef imports for the UK with 129,739t imported during the 2016 period.
Source: Independent
Link: http://www.independent.ie/business/farming/beef/highest-beef-kill-in-12-years-predicted-for-2017-35232394.html
