THE NUMBER of cattle, sheep and pigs killed for export and the home market dropped considerably last, year according to Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures.
These showed there was a 3.8 per cent drop in the number of cattle being slaughtered, a 6.4 per cent in sheep processing and a 6.1 per cent decline in the number of pigs slaughtered.
The cattle slaughtering statistics showed a steady decline in the processing at factories over the last three years.
In 2007, 1.77 million cattle were processed, in 2008 this dropped to 1.66 million and last year the total came to 1.6 million.
There was a greater decline in the number of sheep processed in the same period. The figures showed a drop from 3.26 million animals in 2007 to 2.7 million last year.
A decline in the number of pigs being processed also occurred but there had been a difficulty with the dioxin crisis which began in December 2007 and ran into 2008.
The figures showed 2.61 million pigs were processed in 2007, 2.57 million in 2008 and this fell to 2.42 million last year.
There was a corresponding drop in beef tonnage over the period when it declined from over 580,000 tonnes in 2007 to slightly over 514,000 tonnes in 2009.
The decline in beef processing was not confined to Ireland last year but also, according to the CSO, hit other European countries.
It reported in the January-October 2008/2009 period, Germany, France and the United Kingdom recorded reductions in slaughterings of 3.7 per cent, 3.0 per cent and 1 per cent.
Concern has been expressed in the beef processing sector about the growth in the live export of cattle over the past year. This increased by 75 per cent in the first three quarters of the year.
However, the farm organisations have argued there must be competition and without the live export trade, factories would have a clear field.
The Irish Farmers’ Association and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association have claimed in the past that the meat factories run a cartel and fix the price paid for cattle.
However, the meat processors have denied this and have challenged the farmers to produce proof of any price fixing.
In recent weeks one of the farm organisations, the Irish Cattle and Sheepfarmers’ Association, has been advocating a boycott of factories and have been urging farmers to withhold stock until they receive a proper price.