THE SLAUGHTER of 100,000 pigs at the centre of the dioxin crisis continued yesterday as the processing sector complained of the difficult marketing conditions it now faced.
No arrangements have been put in place for the slaughter of the 4,000 cattle which were also caught up in the scare.
Cormac Healy of Meat Industry Ireland (MII), said while the impact of the contaminated feed crisis had been contained, there was no doubt that damage had been done to the Irish beef brand in some key markets.
He said market conditions continued to be difficult for Irish beef and he expressed concern that the gravity of the situation did not seem to be reflected in recent trade comment and forecasts.
"Although Irish cattle prices in December continue to be 10 per cent above the same month last year, MII is extremely concerned about the market situation facing into 2009," he said.
"We believe that a combination of factors, largely outside the processing sector's control, will have a severe negative impact on the beef export trade over the coming months."
He said the euro/sterling exchange rate had continued to move against the value of exports into the UK, Ireland's largest market accounting for 55 per cent of total exports.
At a current exchange rate of €1 to £0.94, this represented a massive 30 per cent devaluation in sterling when compared to last year.