The development of export markets for Irish food products is primarily the responsibility of the food industry working in conjunction with my Department and Bord Bia. The meat industry exports to a wide range of markets worldwide. It is my objective to ensure that all these markets remain open to Irish meat exports and that all available market outlets are fully exploited.
While the Irish share of the EU market for beef has fallen since 1995 because of the renationalisation of the EU market in the aftermath of the 1996 BSE scare, considerable progress has been made in regaining these markets. Irish beef exports performed strongly on continental EU markets in 1999 when exports to France increased by 14%, to Italy by 33% and to other EU destinations by 36%. Nevertheless, it remains one of the major priorities for the beef industry to recover and consolidate its presence on EU markets. In that context, I have visited Italy, France and the Netherlands in recent weeks specifically to promote the consumption of Irish beef in those markets.
In the case of lamb, while there have been some moves towards renationalisation of certain markets, especially in France and Spain, Irish exports of lamb nevertheless increased by almost 6% in the past year. Bord Bia is continuing to seek new markets for lamb and is involved in lamb promotion campaigns in France and Scandinavia. A good market for Irish lamb is expected in the Mediterranean region in 2000.