Any moves to fly Irish calves to the continent would simply price them out of the market, the Irish Livestock Stakeholders Association has said.

Flying would add an extra €54/hd to the cost of transporting them, it said, and in addition there would be problems with journey times. “We cannot shut the door on the truck/ferry route,” David Scallan of the association said. “Major investment has been made in this means of transport, most recently in the lairages in France.” He also warned against flying calves as light as 30kg, as mooted by Teagasc.

“Our customers in these countries buy Irish calves for quality. They know that the Irish calves perform to a great level and reach targets required. Younger lighter calves will discredit the brilliant name that we have taken time to create overseas,?” he said.

Scallan said there had been no consultation with export groups on flying calves from Ireland and they were willing to make their knowledge and experience available.