Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 January 2016
378. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the value of Irish beef sales to the United States of America in 2015, by month; if he is satisfied with the figures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1041/16]
View answerIreland received a major reputational boost for its beef in 2015 as the first EU Member State to gain access to the US market which was opened to Irish beef exports in January 2015. To date Ireland remains the only EU MS to have secured this access. There are now six plants approved to export but as with any new market it takes time to build reputational brand and a customer base and the real time to assess its value is when these are bedded down.
In volume terms, beef exports to the USA had reached approximately 330 tonnes by early September. This would have an approximate value of €2.1 million. It must be remembered that only two plants were eligible to export up to mid-May and June respectively.
As of the start of November 2015, an estimated 1,300 tonnes valued at €8.5 million had already been exported. By the end of December this figure had risen to an estimated 1,800 tonnes which would have an approximate value of €11.5 million. This is an exceptionally strong start to this trade considering that the first exports only went in March 2015 and some of the plants were only approved for export as recently as September. Also trade is confined to the market for intact cuts as we currently await approval to export beef intended for grinding.
More importantly the relatively high prices available for beef in Europe in 2015 meant that US buyers may have been priced out of the market as Irish exporters chose to send product to more valuable markets in the UK and on the continent. By the end of October exports to the UK were up 7,200 tonnes compared with the same period in 2014 and this coincides with a reduced kill overall (back about 4% year on year) highlighting further the strength of Irish beef exports in the UK. In value terms this equates to €137 million euro more of beef going to this market. This of course is helped by a strong sterling and weak euro.
There has also been significant progress in facilitating trade in other international markets for Irish beef. For example, in 2015, the Canadian beef market opened for Ireland and other Member States and on a bilateral basis the market in Iran was re-opened, while Oman and the Maldives opened to Irish beef exports. I also concluded an extension to our market access to the Philippines, where up to the end of quarter three there had been €11 million of beef exports from Ireland, making us the second largest exporter of beef into the Philippines. Furthermore we are currently in the process of trying to secure beef access to other third countries including Korea, Vietnam and Mexico. It is my intention to continue to focus on developing as many third country markets as possible in order to provide exporters as many commercial opportunities as possible in a competitive global marketplace.
