High prices force export drop
Live export figures for the first three months of 2004 show a drop of over 57 per cent in the export of weanlings and young stores, a slide in export demand which has been attributed to the uncompetitiveness of Irish livestock relative to supplies from the Continent and the Lebanon.
The export trade for calves was also hit with a drop of 22 per cent for the quarter. Exports were particularly slow for the first two months of the year with a slight pick up in demand as prices eased during the second half of March.
Overall live exports to EU countries were down by 38 per cent on the same period in 2003, while trade to non EU countries was down by 84 per cent, with some weekly sales in 2003 larger than the total for the first three months in 2004.
Total live cattle exports for the first quarter of the year amounted to 29,196 compared to 51,587 in 2003 and 120,796 for the same period in 2000, one of the strong years for live exports of cattle.
Weanlings and young stores accounted for 5,814 this year, against 13,288 last year. First quarter exports for the same category in 2000 was 47,232. Calf exports were down to 12,003 this year, against 15,350 last year and 42,344 in 2000.
Bord Bia says that Holland was the principal continental EU destination for Irish live cattle this year accounting for almost one third of total exports. Exports to Spain in particular were well down because of the competitiveness of alternative suppliers compared to Ireland. Exports to the Lebanon were down by nearly 80 per cent with competitors from other EU countries and South America taking up the market.
Calf and store cattle prices have been particularly high in Ireland since the beginning of the year mirroring beef prices which hit a ten year high.
