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Irish beef exports exceeded 50,000t for the first time this year in September according to Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures released last week.
Between January and September, Irish beef exports totalled 402,513t.
In 2016, Irish beef exports hit a record high of 535,000t of beef, worth approximately €2.38 billion.
As expected the UK is the main export destination with Britain taking 21,392t and Northern Ireland a further 2,828t. This represents just under half (48%) of all Irish beef exports.
The next most important market for Irish beef exports in September is France who took 4,904t with the Netherlands next on 3,801t.
The fourth biggest customer for Irish beef in September was Hong Kong who took 2,935t which is a record monthly high in recent times.
Hong Kong is a major trading port for Asia just as Rotterdam is for Europe so it is possible that at least some of this beef is for other markets in Asia but nevertheless it a notable figure.
Volume
In terms of volume, Italy comes next in importance for Irish beef exports in September taking 2,518t while Sweden remains a consistent export destination for Irish beef, taking 2,338t.
Germany is an important high value steak meat market for Ireland and although this is the one area of the meat market that has been under pressure recently, it still took 1,614t in September.
Although back on the previous months, the Philippines remained a strong performer in September taking 1,532t of lower value manufacturing beef.
The consistently high demand in the UK and Europe is making Irish manufacturing beef expensive for this market where there is growing price pressure from Australia and Brazil.
With a consistently high kill in recent weeks and a particularly strong market for manufacturing beef meaning most of it is sold fresh and not being stockpiled in cold stores, export figures are expected to remain strong for the rest of 2017.
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