Over 17,000 cattle have been exported from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland in the first 18 weeks of this year, according to the latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
DAFM figures show that 17,897 head of cattle had been exported to the region in the first 18 weeks of this year (as of Sunday, May 5).
The volume of cattle exported to Northern Ireland is 970 head or 6% above the number exported to Northern Ireland in the first 18 weeks of last year.
14,000 of these were a combination of weanlings, stores and adult cattle and the remaining 3,800 were calves.
The number of Irish calves imported by Northern Ireland is down 11% on last year.
Despite calf exports to Northern Ireland being down, weekly calf export volumes are remaining high, with a total of 14,294 calves exported in the week ending Sunday, May 5, bringing the total number of calves exported from Ireland to date this year to just over 135,900 head.
The table below shows calf export numbers in the first 18 weeks of the past decade:
Irish calf exports 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Weeks 1-18: 65,653 56,368 81,087 107,813 146,359 108,774 107,087 125,349 152,332 135,940
There are a number of factors being attributed to the lower number of calves exported to date this year.
Calf exports got off to a slow start, but export numbers have recovered strongly as the weeks progressed and current market indications suggest that the season has extended, with high numbers of calves continuing to leave on a weekly basis.
There had been some issues earlier in the year, with calf exporters booking ferry crossings due to ferry maintenance, weather conditions and competition from non-livestock transport vehicles.
There was also a delay this year in the larger numbers of calves appearing at mart sales across some parts of the country.
Looking at total cattle exports this year (including calves) and a total of 173,910 cattle have been exported in the first 18 weeks this year, down 5% from the same time period of 2023.
Weanling exports in the first 18 weeks this year stand at just over 10,700 head, while store and adult cattle exports stand at 10,900 and 16,300 head respectively up 47% and 38% respectively.