March 19, 2007

Irish corned beef sales surge on St. Patrick's Day
 

Even if it is not a traditional Irish meal, corned beef sales during the week of St. Patrick's Day in Ireland have averaged about $23 million over the past several years or nearly six times greater during the rest of the year, according to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's (NCBA) retail division.

The increase is translated to weekly sales of about three to four million dollars during the rest of the year.

Chicago, Illinois-based Vienna Beef says it sells about 2.5 million pounds of corned beef each year. About 1.5 million pounds of that are in the six weeks leading up to the Irish holiday.