This week’s announcement that the Turkish Government has given the green light for importers to purchase weanling bulls directly from Ireland and other approved EU member states has led to high levels of expectation. Part of this expectation is stemming from the positive performance achieved in 2016 when 19,269 cattle were exported and again in 2017 when exports increased to 30,562.

Another reason for the sense of anticipation is derived from the fact that the Turkish market currently represents the most positive market opportunities for live exporters, with numbers travelling to other destinations reducing significantly in recent years.

The exception to this statement is live exports of calves, which as can be readily seen in Figure 1 are having a fantastic year. Exports of calves are running at 128,700 to the week ending 26 May 2018, some 36,918 head above 2017 levels.

Exports of weanlings, stores and finished cattle have unfortunately not followed the same fate. Live exports of weanlings have been under significant pressure since 2010, with economic difficulties in Italy and Spain limiting import demand.

As Figure 2 demonstrates, the number of cattle exported to Italy fell from over 70,000 head in 2010 to less than 20,000 head in a six-year period.

The number of weanlings exported to Italy has been low in the last two years and an increase in calf exports in 2018 made up the majority of 2018 export levels. Exports to Spain have improved significantly since 2015 but this has been driven by higher numbers of calves rather than a marked recovery in weanling exports. There is, however, a brighter prospect that exports of weanlings could resume in greater volumes in the second half of 2018.

The other market recording a sharp reduction in exports is live exports to Northern Ireland. Once a booming outlet, this trade has essentially been shut down by labelling issues with factories switching to importing beef from southern plants rather than live animals. This has shut off an important source of competition because northern buyers have historically been active in purchasing both store and finished animals.

Exports fell from a high of over 90,000 in 2010 to settle around 55,000 head from 2013 to 2015. At that stage, labelling issues really started to impact the trade with exports falling to just 24,541 head and 26,073 head in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The volume of cattle moving North in 2018 has fallen even further to just 1,233 head, compared to 5,098 head for the same period in 2017.