The decision by the Egyptian authorities to provide for exceptions to the ban on European beef imports for countries which can meet certain conditions regarding BSE is a very welcome development for Irish beef producers. It follows on an intensive campaign by Ireland at political, diplomatic and technical levels to gain recognition for the way in which BSE is being dealt with here.
In general, the Egyptian authorities have indicated that they will permit beef imports on condition that the beef is derived from cattle aged less than 24 months from which the specified risk material has been removed. Furthermore, those cattle must be fully traceable, test negatively for BSE, never have been fed ruminant MBM and only come from farms in which no case of BSE has occurred in the past three years. The Deputy will be aware that BSE controls in place in Ireland in recent years mean that the Egyptian requirements relating to traceability, BSE testing, MBM, etc., are fully met by our existing controls. As regards age, the fact is that a similar condition is not new within the Egyptian requirements and, as with all such conditions, much will depend on how it is applied in practice.