Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 February 2015
77. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of new beef markets identified, or deemed suitable, for further development, excluding the recently re-opened beef market in the United States of America; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7236/15]
View answer2014 was undoubtedly a very challenging year for the beef sector but despite the difficult market environment, the value of overall beef exports rose slightly to €2.27 billion. The volume of beef available for export was approximately 530,000 tonnes whilst average prices fell by around 11%. The volume of beef destined for the UK (up 9%), Continental Europe (especially Italy, Scandinavia and Germany) (up 17%), and international markets (up 10%) increased in 2014.
In so far as exports to third country markets have been concerned, I have been very active in building and expanding relationships in potential markets in order to raise the profile of Ireland and build the kind of confidence in Irish production and control systems that provide a platform for long-term trading relationships in the future. In the last year, I have lead trade and political missions to China and the US as these have been identified as key priority markets. I was delighted to be in the US last week to launch the arrival of Irish beef for the first time there in 16 years and I can report very strong interest from US buyers and distributors in Irish beef.
In the last year agreements have been reached with Japan, Lebanon, Philippines, Namibia and New Caledonia for the export of Irish beef. Work is currently ongoing with Korea, and significant progress has been made on securing market access to the Chinese market. My Department continues to engage with industry and Bord Bia to identify markets which may present market opportunities and be lucrative for Irish beef and will pursue these opportunities as a priority.
