Ireland's beef exports for the first quarter of this year were less than half of the same period last year, the Central Statistics Office has confirmed, heightening fears of a glut of unsaleable beef in the autumn.
Figures published this weekend in Bord Bia's weekly Market Monitor report showed that, because of the BSE and foot-and-mouth crisis, the kill at Irish meat export plants dropped by 7 per cent compared to this time last year.
The decline would have been higher if animals killed under the European Union Purchase for Destruction Scheme, which took 278,025 animals out of the system in the period January to July, had been included.
These animals were taken out of the food chain in an attempt by the EU to prevent a build-up of unwanted beef before the main supply of cattle was ready for the markets in the autumn.
A total of 951,266 cattle were slaughtered at export premises since the beginning of the year, compared to 1,023,176 animals in the same period last year.
In addition, live cattle exports have plummeted by 92.6 per cent in the January/July period, from 271,852 cattle this time last year, to a mere 20,035 so far this year.
The BSE crisis and foot-and-mouth restrictions delayed trade in calves and older weanling cattle to mainland Europe.
At this stage last year, 213,325 of these young cattle were exported mainly to the Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy.
This weekend sources estimated 400,000 surplus beef cattle may clog up the markets by the end of the year unless vital non-EU markets are reopened.
The farm organisations said that in the past four weeks the factories have dropped beef prices by up to £80 a head despite having a growing outlet for beef in the UK, which looks set to double its imports from Ireland this year.
The farmers claim they cannot survive if they have to sell their animals for 80-82p per lb, the current price offered by the factories, and accused the meat plants of deliberately engineering this.
The factories say there is little or no demand for Irish beef abroad and they already have a huge build-up of stocks.
The Irish Farmers' Association called this weekend on the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, to convene a summit involving themselves and the factories to work out a strategy for viable cattle prices this autumn.