The future of the beef industry is looking very positive, the president of the Irish Farmers Association has said. Opening the National Livestock Show in Tullamore, Co Offaly, Mr Parlon said there were positive signals for the cattle trade for the remainder of this year.
Good summer weather had enabled farmers to save adequate fodder supplies and cattle disposals are already up by 25 per cent or 250,000 head on last year. He said there was continuing strong demand for beef and live cattle in Europe and Ireland was winning back its important share of EU markets.
He said the key indicators on international markets were also positive and he understood a major political initiative would be taken to have the north African markets reopened later in the autumn.
Mr Parlon said beef markets in Britain and across Europe remained very strong and in Britain, prices were ranging between 95p and £1 per lb for the last number of weeks.
The live export trade to Europe was extremely buoyant and to the middle of July, Ireland had exported 160,000 head of cattle to European markets, up 200 per cent on last year.
On the international beef markets, he said, world market prices had increased significantly and the exchange rate with the dollar was very favourable.
Taking account of all these positive signals, said Mr Parlon, he could see no reason why there should not be a buoyant trade for cattle for the remainder of 1999.
"Driven by a strong European market, the price of quality cattle should be significantly higher than last year." He said the Tullamore show was a real example of the major importance of the agricultural sector to the economy as it was built on solid support and sponsorship from the agricultural trade and services sectors.
Agriculture, he said, made a direct contribution to the economy by the £1.7 billion farmers spend on inputs and services annually, £850 million by farmers annually on capital investment, and £195 million on agricultural wages. Of the net farm income of £1.6 million and allowing for taxation and saving, an estimated £1.25 million of residual farm income was spent by farm families as consumers in the local economy.
This, he said, was a major expenditure which contributed to balanced regional development in Ireland and explained how each job in agriculture supports another job in the economy.
"In view of the importance of agriculture to the Irish economy, the sector must be given priority status for investment in the new £38 billion National Investment Plan currently being finalised by the Government," he concluded.
The president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, Mr Frank Allen, said he hoped Mr Parlon was correct in his assessment of the beef situation. He said that while things were looking better than last year, he would be inclined to the view that the market would remain stable as it would in the milk industry.