Sweden is now our third most important market destination for Irish lamb exports.Įmerging international markets continued to grow with Hong Kong being the primary destination of Irish sheep meat exports. Growth has also been seen in export markets including Belgium, Germany and Sweden. Over 60% of produce is exported, with the UK and France our key markets. Irish sheep throughput has experienced several years of consecutive growth. There are an estimated 290 commercial sow herds in Ireland and at mid-2013 there were 1.55 million pigs in Ireland – 147,500 breeding sows and 1.4 million finishing stock – with an average herd size of 508. Most of this product is destined for the Russian and Chinese markets. Pig production ranks third in importance behind beef and dairy in terms of economic value at the farm gate in Ireland. Beef cattle for the export market are slaughtered at one of around 30 approved export meat plants. Ireland’s beef is reared on a grass-fed diet, with a 1.1 million beef suckler cow herd kept on just under 80,000 farms. Total beef production in Ireland stands at approximately 520,000 tonnes, with around 470,000 tonnes destined for export. Ireland is the fifth largest beef exporter in the world and the largest exporter of beef in Europe. As Ireland’s beef herd is predominantly raised on fresh pasturelands under strong quality assurance, traceability and food safety systems, it is increasingly serving the needs of higher-value and premium retail and food service clients in Europe and around the world.īeef is, by far, the biggest category within the meat sector, accounting for 21% of food and drink exports from Ireland. Ireland’s meat and livestock exports account for one third of all food and drink exports. Meat accounts for over 40% of Ireland’s gross agricultural output, dominated by beef, followed by pigmeat and sheepmeat.
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