Strong export trade for calves

Marts: There has been a sharp rise in the number of calves on offer this week, where a strong demand for the shipping trade is maintaining prices.

The shipping trade is particularly supportive of the Friesian bulls suitable for export for which the prices have been holding up to parity with 2004, as the weekly live shipment of calves exceed 2,600 head.

Year-to-date there has been more than a ten-fold rise in the number of calves being shipped live. Peak weeks for export in March ranged from 2,500 to 3,000 head, which is four to five times the weekly export of calves in March 2004.