New statistics released by the French Department of Agriculture this week show that France's cattle herd, the largest in Europe, shrank by 3.8% last year.

At the end of 2017, there were 10.8m beef cattle in the country, down by more than 400,000hd on the previous year. Suckler cow numbers were down 1.8%. Meanwhile, the number of dairy cattle fell by more than 300,000hd to 7.7m.

The sharpest drop was in calves under eight months of age, down 16.8% or 648,000hd. "Considering the stock of animals present on farms as of 31 December and current trends, the projection for France shows a 1.4% fall in beef production in 2018," officials concluded. However, they noted that increasing production in Ireland and Germany should keep EU-wide beef output stable.

France is Ireland's second-largest beef export market after the UK.

Sheep

French sheep numbers, too, fell by 3.9% last year. The sharpest drop was among meat breed ewes, down 4.1%, while dairy ewes increased in numbers. As a result, French sheepmeat production is forecast to fall by 1% this year.

France has the sixth largest sheep flock in the EU and is Ireland's top export market for lamb.

While reduced domestic supply may offer more room for Irish beef and lamb exports to France, it is also important to note that French read meat consumption has been declining for several years.

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