Vol. 545 No. 3
26 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the number of cattle and the amount of tons of beef which has been exported to Egypt in 2001; if none, when he expects the trade to start; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30176/01]
In recent years Egypt has been our most important market for beef and, therefore, no effort was spared at political, diplomatic and technical level over the past number of months to have the market re-opened. On 7 October, I announced that the Egyptian authorities had that day published a decree to extend the existing European wide ban but in a major development the decree provided for an exemption for countries with BSE controls of the type operated by Ireland. This represented a major breakthrough which prepared the way for the long awaited reopening of the Egyptian market for Irish beef. Since then, all details requested by the Egyptian authorities have been provided and Egypt has now formally listed Ireland as a country which meets the required criteria for beef imports into Egypt.
The question now of competing for contracts is a commercial matter for the exporters involved and it is not possible at this stage to say what volumes will be exported in 2001. I am, naturally, hopeful that Irish companies will compete to regain the level of market share they enjoyed in recent years in this important market.
