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Buying has begun for an order for 10,000 Irish hoggets to be exported live to the Middle East.
The order, secured by the Wicklow Calf Company, will result in additional competition in the sheep trade and will be welcomed by farmers.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, David Scallan of the Wicklow Calf Company said the contract is for wether hoggets weighing over 50kg.
The company is seeking to source sheep direct from farms that suit the 21-day residency period for exporting live. This means that farms possessing suitable sheep must not have purchased sheep in the previous 21 days.
The 10,000 hoggets will be exported in batches over the next eight weeks, with the first load of 2,500 expected to depart from Shannon Airport within the next two weeks.
The order will add another source of competition into a sheep trade that has come to life in the last two weeks. Until recently, there was sluggish demand in the market since last November with producers facing challenges in marketing heavier hoggets.
Live exports
As reported by the Irish Farmers Journal, live exports of sheep jumped by almost 50% in 2016. Demand for live sheep was driven mainly by the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.
Included in the 2016 live exports were 1,871 hoggets which were exported by air freight from Shannon Airport to Singapore.
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