(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture the action he has taken or proposes to take to reverse the very serious decline which has taken place over the past year in butter sales on the Irish home market; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Domestic Butter Sales.
77.
Butter sales on the domestic market have shown a substantial decline in the past two years. This is due to a number of factors including changing consumer tastes and the emergence of newly developed spreads.
While I am concerned at this development it is primarily a matter for the industry itself to ensure that the market for its product is maintained. The National Dairy Council who are responsible for promoting the sale of dairy products on the home market have recently launched a new campaign to restore the position of butter.
78.
(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is aware that a named food company which is developing a trade in pigmeat products with the United States of America is compelled to import Danish pigmeat because no pigmeat slaughtering premises in this country meets the standards of the United States Department of Agriculture; and if he will make a statement on this state of affairs.
It is a matter of regret that there is no slaughterhouse here at present up to the licensing standards required for export of pigmeat by the United States Department of Agriculture. There are however, reasonable expectations that a number of slaughterhouses may attain these standards in 1987. In that event the pigmeat plant referred to by the Deputy will be able to source its raw materials here and not have to resort to imports of pork from establishments elsewhere approved for export to the US.
Generous investment grants and other incentives are available to pigmeat plants to enable them to bring their plants up to the highest hygiene standards. In the absence of such investments trading opportunities are being missed. There are hopeful signs that this message is getting through to the industry and I am aware of a number of projects currently in the pipeline. A number of measures have recently been introduced to help the industry and it is now time for the industry to get on with the urgent task of rationalisation.