Irish beef exports to the rest of the European Union have soared this year as it emerged that self-sufficiency for beef in the EU has dropped to its lowest level since 1979.
Over the past two decades, Ireland has been producing the EU's surplus beef which has led to instability in the beef markets here and a heavy reliance on EU intervention, a scheme which purchased surplus beef off the market at rock-bottom prices.
The problem was compounded when BSE scares led to consumption dropping across the EU.
An Bord Bia reported last week that intervention stocks of beef had fallen to only 2,300 tonnes. It was not unusual in the 1980s for the EU to hold intervention stocks, known as beef mountains, of more than 500,000 tonnes.
The EU Beef Forecasting Group has indicated that total beef production during 2003 was expected to decrease by more than 180,000 tonnes or over 2 per cent on corresponding levels from a year earlier to 7.27 million tonnes. Consumption, however, was expected to increase by a further 105,000 tonnes or 1 per cent to more than 7.4 million tonnes.
The report said this put EU beef self-sufficiency at its lowest level since 1979.
This has resulted in an improved market situation throughout the EU, particularly in the Netherlands, Italy, France and Spain. The biggest declines in production were forecast for Germany, the Netherlands and France.
To date, about 155,000 tonnes of intervention beef has been sold on to the market. As a result only 2,300 tonnes of intervention beef remain available for sale.
Irish beef exports to Britain have reached an historic high over the past two years and new markets have opened up in the Nordic countries.
There has been an exceptional increase in export figures of 95 per cent to the Italian market in the first half of the year and Irish beef sales to Italy are expected to reach 35,000 tonnes in 2003.