‘Turkey could take as many cattle as we can send this year’

Turkey can take as many weanlings as Ireland can send, a senior Department of Agriculture official said.

Speaking at the Irish Farmers Journal/IFA livestock demonstration in Balla Mart, superintending veterinary inspector Michael Sheehan said the prospect for the Turkish market are postive.

Some 20,000 Irish weanlings were shipped live to Turkey in 2016.

“Turkey could potentially take as many as we could send this year. We will know more in the coming weeks when the exporters get a definite idea of 2017 plans,” he said.

Sheehan added that Turkey had been delighted with the Irish cattle thus far and that it cost around €150,000 to charter a boat from Ireland to Turkey.

Initially, he envisaged slight growth in volumes to Spain and a sluggish Italian market in line with 2016. Poor economic performance and carcase weight limits in Italy were blamed for the slowdown.

“It was great to get the first load to Libya before 2016 drew to a close, but in terms of potential for 2017 it is very hard to call. Libya is a country in turmoil,” Sheehan said.

With the recent opening of the Egyptian market for Irish beef, Sheehan was hopeful that a cert would be granted for exports in the coming weeks.

“In 1994 we were sending 250,000 live cattle to Egypt alone – a foothold in there again could be significant.”

North Africa was also touted as a potential success story in 2017.

“I am almost certain that we will send cattle to Tunisa and Morocco this year and hopeful that we’ll get some to Algeria too,” said Sheehan.

Earlier in the night, Irish Farmers Journal beef editor Adam Woods told the crowd how Uruguay had sent 200,000 cattle to Turkey in 2016.

“We might have sent 20,000, but they sent 10-times that. The trip takes 30 days on a boat and the only traceability medium was a brand on the animal’s side. Distance is no issue – big cattle countries like these are direct competitors,” Woods said.

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