Supplies of beef expected to rise

Marts: Some opportunities for supplies of beef to some of the 10 countries joining the EU community on May 1 are expected to arise for the existing 15 members including Ireland after the enlargement of the community.

In a detailed analysis of the production patterns in the accession countries, Bord Bia has calculated that the addition of the new countries will increase the dairy cow population by 25% while the beef cow herd will increase by less than 3%.

“Given declining cattle herds and the fact that the majority of cattle are dairy animals as opposed to specialist beef breeds, it is difficult for retailers to consistently source sufficient volumes of domestic beef.