Vol. 539 No. 1
25 Mr. J. Brady asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development his views on the market outlook for beef over autumn 2001; the market support arrangements which will be in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18489/01]
The beef market in Ireland is satisfactory at present and has been since the beginning of the year. The main reason for this is the operation of the purchase for destruction scheme which has underpinned prices for over 30 month cattle. This scheme will have removed some 275,000 animals from the market by 30 June at a cost of approximately £200 million to the Irish taxpayer. A more recent factor has been the foot and mouth disease situation in Britain and the Netherlands which has disrupted slaughterings in these countries and has given rise to market opportunities for Irish beef.
The purchase for destruction scheme will be replaced, from 1 July, by a special purchase scheme which will not apply to steers. In this situation, the steer beef market will be supported through intervention and export refunds. As far as intervention is concerned, I negotiated two major concessions at the meeting of the Agriculture Council last week. First, I secured an increase of 150,000 tonnes in the intervention ceiling for this year. This means that, taking account of purchases into intervention to-date this year, there is scope for an additional 310,000 tonnes to be sold into intervention for the remainder of the year. Secondly, I have secured a commitment from the Commission that the intervention system will be used to stabilise the market in the autumn. This will ensure an orderly transition from the end of the purchase for destruction scheme and will remove a significant uncertainty in relation to market supports for the coming months.
As far as the market outlook is concerned, there are reasonable prospects that the demand for Irish beef in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands will remain firm. I have recently announced the re-opening of the Russian market and this will provide a valuable outlet. Clearly, however, it is of major importance that all third markets which are currently closed because of BSE are re-opened as soon as possible. I will be using all of the resources available to me to secure the re-opening of these markets. Egypt is particularly important in view of the size of that market for Irish beef and there has been ongoing intensive contact at senior and technical level in recent weeks. There has also been ongoing work by Bord Bia within that market. The Egyptian authorities have agreed to send a senior veterinary delegation to Ireland to consider the situation on the ground and I remain hopeful that this initiative, which arose out of recent contacts, will open the way to resumption of trade. As regards the Gulf, which is another important third country market, I am ensuring that diplomatic contact remains focused on a re-opening of that market. At present, a senior veterinary official of my Department is visiting the Gulf States.
