The development of export markets for Irish food products is primarily the responsibility of the food industry working in conjunction with my Department and An Bord Bia. In that context, I have visited a number of key market outlets.
The Irish meat and dairy industries export to a wide range of markets worldwide. It is my objective to ensure that all of these markets remain open to Irish meat exports and that all available market outlets, particularly the high valued added markets, are fully exploited. While the Irish share of the EU market for beef has fallen since 1995 because of the renationalisation of the EU market in the aftermath of the 1996 BSE scare, considerable progress has been made in regaining these markets. Irish beef exports performed strongly on continental EU markets in 1999 when exports to France increased by 14%, to Italy by 33% and to other EU destinations by 36%. Nevertheless, it remains one of the major priorities for the Irish beef industry to recover and consolidate its presence on EU markets. In that context I have visited Italy, France and the Netherlands recently to promote the consumption of Irish beef in those markets.
In the case of lamb, while there have been some moves towards re-nationalisation of certain markets, especially in France and Spain, Irish exports of lamb increased by almost 6% in the last year. Bord Bia continues to seek new markets for lamb and is currently involved in lamb promotion campaigns in France and Scandinavia. A good market for Irish lamb is expected in the Mediterranean region in 2000.