Irish cattle exports to-date this year are approaching 300,000 head, according to latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
As of Sunday, October 29, DAFM figures show a total of over 297,000 cattle have been exported in the first 43 weeks of this year.
Overall cattle export figures to-date this year are up 14% on last year and 30% on figures from the same time period of 2021.
The table below shows Irish cattle exports by type in the first 43 weeks of 2021, 2022 and 2023.
As can be seen from the table above, calves account for over 205,000 of the Irish cattle exported this year.
Disease restrictions in France and Spain are helping to add further demand for Irish cattle within and outside of Europe.
The number of calves exported this year has increased by 21% on 2022 levels and 47% on 2021 levels.
For the purpose of the above table, calves are classified as cattle under six-weeks-of-age, weanlings are all cattle from six-weeks-of-age to six-months-of-age, store cattle are all cattle from six-months-of-age to 24-months-of-age and adult cattle are all cattle from 24-months-of-age and older.
The table below shows Irish cattle exports by destination in the first 43 weeks of 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The number of cattle exported to Northern Ireland to-date this year has increased by 17% to 47,215 head.
Large volumes of store and adult cattle are being exported to this market for beef processing, however recent vet strikes in Northern Ireland have caused some interruption.
As the table above indicates, the Netherlands and Spain account for the largest volumes of Irish cattle exports with primarily calves being exported to these market destinations.
52% of all Irish calves that are exported go to the Netherlands and 27% of calves that are exported go to Spain.
The table below shows Irish calf exports by destination in the first 43 weeks of 2021, 2022 and 2023.
While the Netherlands and Spain remain the largest buyers of Irish calves, there has been noticeable growth in the numbers of calves being exported to markets such as Italy, Poland, Northern Ireland and Romania.