Consumers have expressed confidence in beef by continuing to buy it in greater quantities. Retail sales of beef increased by 2 per cent to 31,500 tonnes in the year ending November 14th.
Figures supplied by the Food Board showed that consumers purchased beef worth £147 million and 88 per cent of homes continued to buy the product on 30 occasions a year.
The survey, conducted for the board by Taylor Nelson Sofres, showed that the average household consumption of beef has remained at 31 kg annually.
Frying/grilling beef continued to be the preferred cut and accounted for 35 per cent of the sales at 10,900 tonnes, a 2 per cent increase.
Sales of roasting joints were up 3 per cent and stood at 7,100 tonnes, representing 22 per cent of total beef sales.
Sales of stewing beef also increased by 3 per cent to 2,500 tonnes and this represented 8 per cent of total sales. Mince sales stood at 8,000 tonnes, which represented 25 per cent of total sales.
The board has also reported a significant increase in the number of live cattle exports from the Republic to Northern Ireland.
The numbers being exported to the North at the start of 1999 were below 1998 levels but this has shown a dramatic increase.
In the period January-October, more than 14,000 head were exported live to the North, up 9,000 head on the same period in 1998.
Exports of live cattle to France in the first half of the year stood at 4,600 head, a substantial increase. Beef sales totalled 23,000 tonnes, a 27 per cent increase.