Calf prices are steady this week with shippers keen to get Friesians but farmer buying is slow to take off due to weather and fodder difficulties. Most Friesian bull calves for export are being bought at €80 per head.

However, exporters report that numbers of good Friesian calves have fallen sharply, with a pronounced swing to Angus and coloured calves appearing. With fewer Friesians available, exports dipped last week – probably just below 10,000 head. They will dip further this week, with the Easter celebrations also a factor.

The peak of calf exports has now passed. This week, total exports will pass the 70,000 head mark, which puts them 6,000 or 7,000 head ahead of this time last year. Dairy calf registrations, to date, are 23,000 head higher than last year.

Exporters will now turn their attention to better-quality Angus calves.

One exporter assembled a lorry load last week, paying €140 and €150 each. This was for a Dutch customer. With supply of Friesians from Dutch and German dairy herds also dried up, Dutch veal feedlots will have to switch to taking quality coloured calves and will pay, the exporter said.

But they won’t take smaller, plain Angus x Jersey calves which can’t produce a sufficiently heavy carcase at seven to eight months.

Turkey

A consignment of heavy bulls will load on a boat at Greenore Port on Monday for export to Turkey. This will be the second load sent by Co Meath-based livestock export company Viastar in 2018.

It is supplying the cattle under a contract agreed between a large EU livestock export company and the Turkish state buying agency ESK.

Viastar continues to seek bulls and is expected to send further loads at a rate of approximately one each month until mid-year.

This week, IFA livestock chair Angus Woods said Turkey could buy 100,000 cattle from Ireland if the trade gets proper support and encouragement.

“Next week’s delivery will bring the total number exported to non-EU markets to some 6,500 head. IFA and Bord Bia visited this market and Turkish feeders were very complimentary of the quality of stock from Ireland.”