asked the Minister for Agriculture in view of the fact that the average Community market price for sheepmeat reached 372.741 ECU/100 KG in 1984, while Ireland's price was 323.925 ECU/100 KG which represented a decline of 5.5 per cent from the 1983 price, he considers that more concentrated efforts should be made to improve the quality of and marketing of Irish sheepmeat.
Written Answers. - Irish Lamb.
201.
Improvement in the returns for Irish lamb can best be achieved through greater awareness on the part of both producers and factories of the need to produce the type of product which will obtain maximum prices on export markets. Producers should dispose of their lambs before they get overfat while factories should pay greater attention to the standard of carcase dressing and presentation. I am pleased to see that in the past 12 months there was a noticeable improvement in the quality of Irish lamb sent to export markets. The level of prices here is very much influenced by returns on the French export market where demand in recent times has been weak. It should of course be borne in mind that sheep producers receive an annual ewe premium which compensates them for the difference between Irish market prices and the Community's basic price.