Calf exporters have been told by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) that services at Pignet Control Post in Cherbourg, France have been suspended.
DAFM issued an e-mail to calf exporters yesterday evening, (Friday, March 24) outlining that services at the Pignet Control Post in Cherbourg, France, have been suspended by French Authorities with immediate effect.
The DAFM e-mail stated: “It will not be possible to make a booking there until further notice.”
Bookings for today, (Saturday, March 25) have been cancelled and the e-mail also advised: “Further updates will issue as information is available.”
All Irish calves travelling to mainland Europe through Cherbourg Port pass through one of two control posts. The two control posts at Cherbourg Port are Pignet and Qualivia.
Once the calves leave the boat, they go directly to one of these two control posts which act as feeding stations for the calves where they are then fed and rested for approximately 12 hours there.
Agriland understands the two control posts can hold over 5,000 calves and the Pignet Control Post can manage approximately 50% of these.
The suspension of services at this post will therefore reduce the number of calves that can travel from Ireland to Cherbourg, by approximately 50% in each sailing.
This is the third setback that the movement of Irish calves to mainland Europe has suffered this year. Stormy weather conditions and a strike in France also resulted in a number of livestock sailings being cancelled over the past three weeks.
The DAFM e-mail did not specify any details in relation to why the control post had been suspended by French Authorities or when it is likely to reopen.
It is expected the announcement will have a negative impact on the demand for export-type Irish calves over the coming days.