There has been a huge increase in the number of animals being slaughtered at export meat plants, according to the Irish Food Board.
An Bord Bia figures for cattle throughput at plants for the first six months of this year show that 959,000 animals were slaughtered in the period, a 10 per cent increase on last year.
There was a 4 per cent increase in the number of bullocks slaughtered in the plants, where 532,000 animals were processed, a 30 per cent increase to 205,000 in the number of heifers slaughtered, and a 1 per cent increase in the throughput of cows; 192,000 were killed.
The number of cattle in the State increased dramatically with the December census showing that farmers owned just over 7.1 million animals. This has grown from just over 6.5 million in 1995. The beef breeding herd stands at just under 3 million animals.
The board's figures also showed a threefold increase in live cattle exports in the first six months of the year, when 189,000 animals were shipped out.
This represented an increase of almost 130,000 head on the same period in 1998. Nearly 145,000 cattle were shipped to continental Europe - an increase of 100,000 head over the same period last year.
Exports to Lebanon also performed strongly over the period, increasing by 28,000 head to reach 38,000. Live exports to Northern Ireland were 10 per cent ahead of last year at 4,400.
More than half the live exports to continental markets were weanlings and other young cattle. Of the total, almost 50,000 went to Spain with a further 22,000 to Italy.
It was also announced this week that 35,000 tonnes of boxed boneless intervention beef had been exported to the Russian Federation to improve the food supply situation. There are major food shortages because of a poor harvest.
The beef was shipped as part of the EU's free food aid package requested by the Russian Federation. Deliveries to St Petersburg have reached 20,000 tonnes already, and 10,000 more tonnes are expected there within the next few days from Waterford.
The expected shipping of a further 5,000 tonnes over the next few weeks will reduce EU intervention stocks being held in Ireland to 8,000 tonnes.
There had been 65,000 tonnes in coldrooms here at the end of last September.