Dairy
David Clarke explained the difficulty new exporting regulations are creating on the exporting of live cattle into the UK market.
Beef
Live cattle exports play a vital role in underpinning prices at Irish marts right across the country. What trends are evident?
Issues relating to a shipment of live cattle to Algeria "have been resolved", with the boatload now expected to depart on Friday, May 22.
The Sarah M - which had been scheduled to export cattle to Algeria this weekend - remains in a holding position off the Waterford coast.
Bord Bia's Joe Burke is "optimistic" that Algeria could become a key market for Ireland's live cattle exports next year.
In a sector where beef processors have the monopoly, getting cattle out of the country provides more competition at the ringside and when it comes to cattle available for slaughter.
Speaking at the recent Teagasc and Bord Bia information evening - held in Co. Mayo - Bord Bia's Damien Murray outlined how the live cattle export market is operating so far in 2018.
Calf exports have witnessed a massive increase in 2018. Some 138,234 calves have been exported from Ireland by live export means in 2018.
Two boatloads of cattle will leave Ireland bound for Libya next week. The consignments of bulls - both Friesians and continentals - will leave from Co. Cork.
The number of Irish cattle exported during 2017 has increased by 32.7% on the corresponding period in 2016, figures from Bord Bia indicate.
Approximately 2,000 Irish stores will be exported to a non-EU market in the coming weeks, after an agreement was reached with an Irish exporter.
Irish suckler farmers are holding on to the hope that further contracts, which could see more Irish cattle being shipped to Turkey, will be agreed this year.
Cattle exports from Ireland during 2016 fell 18% on the year before, figures from Bord Bia show.
Bord Bia and the main players in the live exports sector came together for their annual meeting in Tullamore today to review the past year.
The Department of Agriculture has been called on to remove the barriers in the way of Irish live cattle exports to Northern Ireland and Britain.
A fourth shipment of cattle is set to sail to Turkey today, carrying a load of approximately 3,000 weanling bulls.
Calls have been made to provide additional resources, in terms of manpower and funds to get the 'vitally important' Turkish trade moving.
There has been a fall off in the number of cattle exported from Ireland by live export means so far this year.
Exporters are almost 100% sure that the Turkish market will come in the next couple of weeks, according to Viastar's William Fay.
With the uncertainty in the cattle trade at present, a major promotional effort is now needed to get Irish live cattle exported to Turkey
The number of cattle exported from the Republic of Ireland to Britain has dropped by nearly 70% during the first four months of the year.
Irish cattle are effectively locked on the island of Ireland until they are fit for slaughter, according to ICOS.
Live cattle exports to Turkey depend on Ireland maintaining its bluetongue free status, according to Bord Bia's Joe Burke.
