Over 144,000 beef-sired calves exported this year
Over 144,000 beef-sired calves have been exported from Ireland this year, figures obtained by Agriland from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) have shown.
Responding to a query from Agriland on the number of beef-sired calves that have been exported in 2025 and the number of these that were genotyped, a spokesperson from DAFM said: "As of Friday, June 27, there have been 144,384 beef sire breed calves exported, 43% (61,415) of which were genotype registrations".
The largest volume of beef-sired calves were exported in April at 49,456 head, with almost 22,000 of these genotyped.
According to Bord Bia, a growing number of these beef-sired calves being exported are female calves in line with calf availability.
The table below details the number of beef-sired calves exported from Ireland as of June 27, 2025, and the number that were genotyped:
| Month | Number of genotyped beef-sired calves exported | Non genotyped beef-sired calves exported | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 163 | 597 | 760 |
| February | 1,574 | 2,154 | 3,728 |
| March | 16,963 | 16,517 | 33,480 |
| April | 21,985 | 27,471 | 49,456 |
| May | 16,192 | 25,764 | 41,956 |
| June (to June 27) | 4,538 | 10,466 | 15,004 |
| Total: | 61,415 | 82,969 | 144,384 |
For the purpose of the table above, DAFM classified calves as all cattle below six months-of-age.
As of Friday, June 20, a total of almost 214,000 calves have been exported, which is up 12% from the same time last year.
The table below details Irish calf exports by market destination for the first 27 weeks of 2023, 2024, and 2025:
| Destination | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024/35 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 105,720 | 77,379 | 83,549 | +8% |
| Spain | 52,221 | 66,763 | 77,498 | +16% |
| Poland | 13,052 | 13,369 | 21,874 | +64% |
| Italy | 19,609 | 17,639 | 18,246 | +3% |
| Northern Ireland | 5,428 | 4,927 | 6,955 | +41% |
| Croatia | - | 3,080 | 1,970 | -36% |
| Romania | 2,249 | 4,659 | 1,386 | -70% |
| Hungary | 1,427 | 2,713 | 1,116 | -59% |
| Other | 315 | 240 | 1,349 | +462% |
| Total | 200,021 | 190,769 | 213,943 | +12% |
The Netherlands remains the largest market destination for Irish calves, with 83,500 calves sold to the country in the first 27 weeks of this year.
Spain is the second-largest export market destination for calves at 77,498 head, followed by Poland, Italy, and Northern Ireland purchasing 21,900, 18,200, and 7,000 Irish calves respectively.
