Vol. 478 No. 2
20 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the number of tonnes of Irish beef which has been exported to South Africa during the past year; if his attention has been drawn to the widely conflicting reports of the proportion of Irish beef in the total EU beef exports to that country; the reason for the apparent discrepancy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10768/97]
During 1996 exports of beef to South Africa from Ireland amounted to approximately 12,000 tonnes. On the basis of material drawn up by the South African authorities, imports of beef from the European Union in 1996 amounted to 39,360 tonnes. The proportion of beef of Irish origin was, therefore, approximately 30 per cent.
I am aware of newspaper reports which indicated that 95 per cent of EU sourced beef imported into South Africa was of Irish origin. The apparent discrepancy in the figures referred to may have resulted from the fact that beef of Irish origin accounted for approximately 85 per cent of South African beef imports in 1994.
