Vol. 487 No. 2
105 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will report on the recent visit to Egypt by a technical delegation from the Department of Agriculture and Food; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3721/98]
The specific objectives of the visit by my Department officials were to discuss with the Egyptian authorities the recently introduced decrees relating to the importation of beef and also to further discuss the possibility of reopening the trade in live cattle. This is part of an ongoing process of maintaining high level contact between the Irish and Egyptian authorities on matters relating to trade in agriculture and food products.
My objective is to ensure that our significant export trade in beef to Egypt, 55,000 tonnes in 1997, is not disrupted and that the matter of live cattle imports remains under consideration by the Egyptian authorities.
