WITH the slump in the dairy trade and disease concerns on the continent, live cattle imports are down 60% on the year.
Analysis of data from the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) indicates that, in the year to April, a total of 10,400 cattle were imported into Great Britain – down 6300 head on the corresponding period last year. .
Most of these (70%) are between 12 and 30-months-old with the majority made up of pedigree Holsteins, for replacements in commercial dairy herds. 
However, while 30% of all cattle imported were dairy females, this is down significantly on last year, when more than half went into milking units. Most of these breeding animals were from The Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Denmark and France. 
According to AHDB, the removal of milk quotas could have resulted in lower availability of breeding stock in some of these countries, in particular those which have been actively pursuing their own dairy expansion agendas. 
As it is, the number of dairy females between 12 and 30 months of age imported from the Netherlands is down 1500 head and from both Germany and Ireland the figures are back 1000 head. 
In the year to April, some 4300 beef males were also imported along with 2800 beef females. Some of these will be stores coming in for further finishing and others, cattle ready for slaughter. As expected, most of these are males between 12 and 36 months of age from Northern Ireland. 
With GB upplies of store cattle relatively tight as a result of lower birth rates in 2013, there has been a keen interest in good quality NI store cattle by GB finishers, which are eligible for Red Tractor Quality Assured status. 
This makes NI origin store cattle much more attractive to finishers in GB than cattle sourced from the Republic of Ireland, or anywhere else. As a result, the number of beef males imported between six and 24 months of age is up more than 300 head on the year.