A boat load of young bulls will leave Waterford Port for Libya next week.

The consignment of almost 2,500 cattle has been assembled and quarantined by Purcell Brothers.

Most of the bulls are Friesian, but there are some continentals. The firm is hopeful of winning repeat orders.

First boat since May

This will be the first boat load of cattle shipped to a third country since early May.

A number of cattle boats could be filled over the autumn, as another exporter is now concluding contracts with private Libyan buyers and hopes to shortly start buying.

There is demand in Libya for imported livestock, but currency and political instability has made finalising of contracts a slow process.

So far this year, 4,211 cattle have been exported to Libya.

Next week’s boat should bring the running total to over 6,500 head. The total for 2018 was 5,106.

Turkey

No Irish cattle have been shipped to Turkey since April, but exporters continue to try to agree contracts.

So far this year, 2,859 cattle have been exported to Turkey. The total for 2018 was 12,863 head.

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