Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 October 2021
378. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which the level of beef production continues here; if he is satisfied regarding the future of the industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51923/21]
View answerI am very aware of the contribution of the beef sector to Irish agri-food as a whole, supporting significant levels of direct employment as well as their role in supporting rural economies and the wider national economy. It is a sector that I support and will continue to support into the future.
The Department continues to prioritise supporting the sustainable development of this sector including through targeted supports aimed at supporting primary producers to increase the environmental and economic efficiency of their operations.
Over the five years from 2016 - 2020, annual beef production averaged 1.73 million head with a coefficient of variation of 0.03 during that period indicating very stable production levels. Beef worth over €2.3 billion and just short of 518,000 tonnes was exported in 2020, this represented a decrease in both value and volume of just 2% on the previous year despite the unprecedented difficulties which prevailed.
Slaughter reached almost 1.8 million head in 2020 which was a 2.6% increase on 2019 figures. The average price for R3 Steers in 2020 was 362.73c/kg (excl VAT), which represented a 1% increase on the previous year.
Supporting the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the Irish agri-food sector is a fundamental theme of the new Food Vision 2030 stakeholder-led strategy for the future of the sector, and will also underpin the development of my Department's supports under the next Common Agricultural Policy.
Ultimately, I want to ensure that, as a priority, we protect the incomes of our primary producers who are the bedrock our sector as well as protecting the environment.
