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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 26 Mar 1997

Vol. 477 No. 1

Written Answers. - Third Country Markets.

Chris Flood

Ceist:

16 Mr. Flood asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the current status of third country markets for cattle and beef exports from Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8432/97]

Síle de Valera

Ceist:

17 Miss de Valera asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the progress, if any, he has made in lifting the ban on live exports to Libya. [8427/97]

Noel Ahern

Ceist:

27 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the reason no carcass beef has been exported to Egypt since the recent visit of the Egyptian veterinary delegation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8410/97]

Noel Dempsey

Ceist:

36 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the progress, if any, he has made with the Russian authorities regarding the lifting of the eight-county ban on beef imports from Ireland which is due for review in May 1997. [8426/97]

Liam Aylward

Ceist:

38 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry when the ban on live cattle exports to Egypt and Lybia will be lifted; and if he will make a statement on his efforts to restore these valuable markets. [8411/97]

Michael Woods

Ceist:

62 Dr. Woods asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the third country beef markets, if any, he has visited in the past 12 months. [8429/97]

Brendan Smith

Ceist:

226 Mr. B. Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if his attention has been drawn to the concerns in counties Cavan and Monaghan in relation to the Russian beef ban; the progress, if any, he has made in having this decision reversed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8603/97]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 16, 17, 27, 36, 38, 62 and 226 together.

In general this country is trading normally in cattle and beef on a wide range of international markets although a number of countries have imposed BSE related restrictions. Strenuous efforts are being made to have these restrictions lifted. I have led delegations to Libya and Russia and my officials have been actively involved in missions to Russia, Egypt, Libya, Iran and the Gulf States. I have also met visiting delegations from these countries and I have been in direct contact with the Egyptian Minister for Agriculture. The current position in relation to each individual market can be summarised as follows.

As regards Russia, trade in beef is covered by a veterinary protocol concluded in November last which, inter alia, categorises counties according to their level of BSE. Currently meat derived from cattle from eight counties is excluded from the trade. I regard this as a serious and regrettable development and I am well aware of the concerns of producers in the counties in question. I envisage having further discussions on the issue with the Russian authorities in May next.

It is worth pointing out that trade is continuing from the other counties and the Russian side have signalled their commitment in the long term to trade in beef from Ireland. Some 16,000 tonnes of beef have been shipped to date and the volume of exports forecast for the full year exceeds 100,000 tonnes. We do not anticipate difficulties in meeting that demand.

Egypt banned imports of live cattle from Ireland in January 1997 for a six months period. At the same time, new veterinary requirements were introduced in respect of beef. Agreement was reached with the Egyptian authorities last week on a revised veterinary certificate to accompany beef exports to Egypt thus ensuring continuation of the trade. I am continuing in my efforts to have the live cattle market reopened. I should point out that the type of beef exported to Egypt is boneless beef. Traditionally, Ireland has not traded in carcase beef on the Egyptian market.

In March 1996 Libya imposed a ban on the import of live cattle from Ireland. I have made a number of efforts to secure a lifting of this ban. I led a delegation to Tripoli last July and this visit was followed up by a series of contacts at official level. A technical delegation from Libya is in Ireland at present to observe our controls. I will be meeting this delegation later in the week and I intend to impress on them the high quality and safety of Irish cattle.

The Iranian market has always been volatile but has taken considerable quantities of Irish beef in the past. A veterinary delegation visited from Iran last autumn and I am organising a follow-up technical mission to Iran in the coming weeks.
Restrictions on Irish beef have also been imposed by a number of countries in the Middle East including United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and Turkey. As regards UAE, the authorities there have now agreed to lift the restrictions. I expect to receive formal confirmation of this later in the week. I also understand that the restrictions applied by Qatar will be lifted in the coming days. I will continue to work with the relevant authorities of the countries concerned to secure elimination of all remaining restrictions.
Given the nature of BSE related difficulties which it has faced the beef export industry has performed well in third countries over the past year.
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