Purcell Livestock Exporters are in advanced negotiations to ship thousands of live Irish cattle to Turkey in 2017, the Irish Farmers Journal has learned.

It bid for a tender covering 47,000 head with delivery by autumn 2017. It appears to have beaten off bids from a number of other Irish exporters including Co Meath-based Viastar, which exported close to 20,000 head of cattle to Turkey last autumn.

The contract is on offer from the ESK, which is Turkey's state-owned Dairy and Meat Board. All going well, shipments will start in mid-April.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that the landed price is lower than the price obtained for the Irish cattle delivered last autumn.

Adult cattle

This suggests that a proportion of the contract would be for adult cattle for immediate slaughter which would not require an expensive 21-day quarantine.

A proportion of the contract would be for adult cattle for immediate slaughter

Part of any contract will be for finisher animals which would be continental breeds weighing 240kg to 320kg, born after May 2016 and which would have to complete quarantine before shipment.

Experience

The Purcell family have decades of experience in exporting live cattle from Ireland. In recent years, the company has concentrated much of its activity on global exports from Australia and New Zealand.

Clearly, with more markets opening to live cattle from Ireland, and cattle prices rising in Australia, the company wants to step up activities back here.

In addition to its original lairage and loading facilities at Bellview, Co Waterford, the firm also has facilities in Australia.

Darren Carty contributed to this story.

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