Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 July 2015
15. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to develop the live exports trade to the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25842/15]
View answerI attach an enormous importance to the live export trade and my Department, along with Bord Bia, has been extremely proactive during my tenure as Minister in encouraging and facilitating both the cross border live trade and shipments overseas. Live exports serve a vital purpose as a means of both satisfying market demand for live animals and providing an essential alternative market outlet, particularly for Irish cattle producers.
Total live exports of cattle for 2014 stood at approximately 237,000 head, valued at €172 million. Some 73,000 of these were exported to the UK. Trade to the UK has increased considerably so far this year, with live cattle exports to the UK as a whole standing at about 31,000 head, representing a 25% rise when compared to the comparable period in 2014. This figure includes live exports to Northern Ireland, with cross-border trade up almost 45% on last year. This trade has been assisted by the relative strength of sterling in recent months and the considerable increase reflected in the figures presents strong grounds for optimism regarding the future of the live export trade of cattle to this important market.
A strong system of transport links is in place to facilitate these exports and extra roll-on roll-off ferry capacity for livestock exports has been added since the beginning of the year. Three dedicated vessels and three roll-on roll-off ships are currently approved for export of live animals from Ireland. The process to approve two more dedicated vessels for the purpose of exporting animals is also under way.
There had been some concern expressed last year regarding the impact of origin labelling rules on the level of cattle that could be exported north of the border or to the rest of Britain. The retailers’ longstanding policy is to market British and Irish beef separately and, under mandatory EU labelling rules, these carcases have to be deboned in a separate batch, and packaged and labelled accordingly, thereby incurring additional costs for the processor. These issues are a matter of commercial preference, both of slaughter plants in Britain, and of British retailers. However, I believe the developments in recent months demonstrate that the impact of origin labelling rules can sometimes be overstated and, where good quality animals are made available at the right price, there is clearly a market there for them.
With this in mind, Bord Bia, in its ongoing interactions with British customers, will continue to pursue all possible opportunities to maximise the full potential of the beef and livestock trade with our largest trading partner. This is in addition to actively supporting the development of the live export trade through the provision of market information, developing market access and promotional activity.
