Irish beef exports were down in September to 37,049t, according to CSO export figures released this week.

August’s total beef exports were 41,716, which was also lower than previous months, with exports at 45,085t in July and 45,769t in June, normally the time of year when factories have their lowest cattle kill.

Throughput - and therefore sales - normally begin to ramp up in August and we have peak slaughter season in September through to the end of November.

Of course this wasn’t a 'normal' year, with the kill disrupted by the factory protests, leaving an overhang of cattle still to be slaughtered that is only slowly being caught up on.

Impact on different markets

Some export markets were affected more than others and it is no surprise that the largest volume market for Irish exports, Britain, was greatest hit, with just 14,771t of beef going there in September compared with 16,094t in August, 17,055t in July and 17,813t in June.

Continental export markets were also hit, with fewer cattle than normal going through Irish factories in September.

France, our second-largest export market, took 3,048t of Irish beef in September, compared with 4,282t in July and 5,125t in June.

There was a smaller decline in the Netherlands, with 3,196t going there in September, compared with 3,158t in August and 4,107t in June, one of the markets less impacted by disruption to Irish beef supplies.

Germany was also disrupted, having taken over 1,800t in June and July, but dropping back to1, 584t in August and falling again in September to 1,149t.

Biggest percentage drop in US and China

In percentage terms, the biggest fall was in the developing export markets to the USA and China.

June had been the highest month ever for beef exports to the USA at 583t. This slipped slightly to 556t in July and there was a noticeable drop in August to 445t and a further drop in September to 328t.

It was a similar pattern in trade with China for the seven factories then approved.

Sales had been building month on month, reaching 813t in July before slipping back slightly in August to 804t as disruption at the seven factories approved was limited. However, at the height of the protests in September, exports fell back to 487t.

Comment

The reason farmers went to the factory gates in the summer was desperation with prices they were getting for their cattle. Yet the consequences of disrupting production and export sales, as reflected in the CSO figures, serve only to make matters worse.

Farmers have suffered with trying to get cattle killed since the protests ended and we have to be careful about being replaced as a supplier in the market place.

Fortunately, a strong global demand for beef has been developing in recent weeks and this will create its own opportunities.

However, it is important that actions in place with the agreement that brought the disputes to an end deliver the transparency and build confidence between factory and farmer to make sure prolonged damaging protests don’t happen again.

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