Search for new beef buyers
However, the Irish beef industry's search for alternative market outlets was believed to be finding early success, even before the September 7 launch of Bord Bia's €10 million initiative to grow sales in 8,000 EU retail outlets.
Irish sales were already growing in Sweden, Finland and Denmark, and cow beef exports were increasing to France.
But new markets for 70,000 tonnes of Irish beef may be needed to fully compensate for the return of 635,000 UK cattle per year, aged over 30 months, and equivalent to 185,000 tonnes of beef.
November 7 is OTM-Day in the UK beef market, when the over 30 months beef starts to return.
Up to now, these animals were purchased from farmers, for about €1.30 per kg of deadweight, and destroyed by the UK food safety authorities as an anti-BSE measure.
Now, UK farmers say they hope to sell the cows for the current average price being achieved for 03 cows in Ireland, of more than €2 per kg, and dislodge imports.
The imports from Ireland of nearly 264,000 tonnes per year will be most affected, predicts the Meat and Livestock Commission.
The UK beef industry will use the next six weeks to prepare the ground for the smooth re-entry of beef from older UK cattle, with burger processors winding down import commitments, and placing new orders with the dozens of UK companies that are preparing to re-enter the manufacturing beef market.
More than 100 UK slaughtering plants have applied to slaughter OTM bovines, with 53 plants planning to start from the first week.
Dislodged imports are not the only worry for the Irish beef industry, The Meat and Livestock Commission also warned that beef prices could fall in the UK.
They said the UK beef market remains vulnerable, after the 7% price slump for finished cattle in June and July, with the still "fragile" state of consumer spending posing a big worry for the beef industry.
