MII: 'We've lost half a million sheep'
Meat Industry Ireland (MII) has said that there has been half a million sheep lost in the market and added that the EU is vulnerable to imports.
Speaking at the launch of Bord Bia's Export Performance and Prospects Report 2025/2026, chair of MII, Philip Carroll said there are considerations regarding sheep and beef production: "The numbers don’t tell everything."
While the total value of primary beef exports in 2025 is estimated at €3.4 billion, up 24% on 2024, cattle throughput at Irish meat plants is estimated to have decreased by 180,000 head.
Carroll said: “It’s based upon value; that’s when you look at the numbers and the underlying proposition.
“So there has been an increase in value and we’ve seen why that has happened – food price inflation has been a dominant feature of that.
“The underlying thing about the beef sector is that the throughput is down 180,000 animals this year – and that was a surprise for many of us. We could see the trend on that coming over the course of the year. That’s one of the challenges.”
Future of industry
“The reality for many of us when we’re looking to the future about the sustainability of the industry, the question we have to ask is if that’s a lost opportunity – in adding value to that product here at home,” he continued. “And it is an issue that everyone needs to put their mind to.”
The MII chair admitted that competition in the pigmeat market has been intense.
"We’ve had the Chinese issue and the tariffs. But the EU remain cautiously optimistic about the future of pork industry in Europe.”
On the subject of sheep and lamb, he said: “Again we have a similar problem to the beef side; we’ve lost half a million sheep and that has had a significant contribution to the lower results we’ve had on the sheep industry. So it’s a big issue.
“We have to take a serious look at what we’re doing with the suckler herd. Suckler herd has been declining at a rate of about 3% per annum.”
Europe
On the subject of Europe, he said: “The concern we have across Europe is that if we’re losing production in the UK and the EU and here in Ireland, what we leave ourselves open to is vulnerability to imports.
“What we need is a policy in Brussels to re-engage with ensuring that we meet food security demands within the European Union.
“We have to make sure that we don’t price ourselves out of the market. We’re in the market, but are we getting the value out of the carcass that we should be getting?”
