Curzon Livestock is aiming to send another consignment of bulls to Libya, AgriLand understands. Last week, managing director James Horgan told AgriLand that he hopes the shipment will leave Ireland at the end of September.
The consignment will consist of both Friesian and continental bulls. Horgan will travel to Libya next week to try and finalise a deal with Libyan buyers after the Eid-Al-Adha holiday period, which takes place this week.
Horgan is also hoping to do business in Turkey. However, Turkey’s lira crisis has become a major cause of concern among Irish exporters.
This will be the fourth boat to leave Ireland this year bound for Libyan shores. So far this year, Curzon Livestock have exported 3,500 – both Friesian and continental – bulls to Libya. Two boats left Ireland in mid-July; 400 in-calf also accompanied these bulls.
Earlier this year, a boat – organised by Supreme Livestock – carrying approximately 770 Friesian bulls left Greenore Port, Co. Louth. This consignment arrived in the Libyan port of Khoms during the first week of March.
Supreme Livestock is also hoping to do business with Libyan buyers after the Eid-Al-Adha holiday period, AgriLand believes.
Other export news
At the start of the year, there was a very positive atmosphere surrounding the live cattle trade in Ireland. It was projected that there was the possibility to export approximately 50,000 head of cattle to Turkey alone.
This was boosted in June of this year when the the Turkish Minister for Agriculture gave the green light to private Turkish buyers.
However, the Turkish lira has fallen by over 40% this year. While the currency showed slight signs of recovery towards the end of last week, the lira fell against the US dollar again on August 20 – with some reports now circulating that the Turkish economy will likely face a recession next year.
Also Read: Turkish lira crisis: ‘The worry is we’ll sell zero weanlings this autumn’While Irish exporters have sourced bulls and are keen to do business with Turkish buyers, at this stage, it is unlikely that the predicted target will be met and prices achieved by weanling bulls might not reach the heights witnessed during the corresponding period in 2017.