Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:98 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food his plans for the development of the meat, cereal and dairy industries here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4204/03]
Vol. 561 No. 3
98 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food his plans for the development of the meat, cereal and dairy industries here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4204/03]
In relation to the beef and lamb sector, the overall strategy for the development of these sectors is to ensure that they achieve their full potential, thereby maximising their contribution to the national economy. This includes action on a range of fronts to address competitiveness at production and processing level and to adopt a comprehensive strategic marketing focus.
The main marketing focus for beef involves moving up the value chain at EU level through increased penetration at retail level in the UK, increasing exports to other core continental markets, targeting growth in European developing markets and developing niche opportunities. In addition, an important element of the marketing strategy is to broaden the spread of third country markets.
In the context of broadening markets, improvement in the quality of cattle will be encouraged through the introduction by the processing industry of appropriate price differentials to reward producers for quality production. The introduction of such differentials will be a condition of eligibility for grant-aid for capital investment related to slaughtering capacity. My Department will also progress the introduction of mechanical classification in order to facilitate the introduction of a differentiated pricing structure. Better breeding will also be encouraged through the activities of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, ICBF, and Teagasc. At the processing stage, the main strategy is to encourage the production of value added products.
A revision of the sheepmeat regime has seen the introduction of a fixed rate premium, which has helped to underpin returns to producers. Better breeding practices have resulted in an improvement in the quality of sheep production. The national sheep identification and tracing system, NSIS, provides a modern and comprehensive traceability system for the sector. These developments will underpin producer returns and broaden market opportunities.
An Bord Bia, which has primary responsibility for the promotion of beef and lamb, continues to assist the industry in its efforts to seek new markets and maximise returns from existing markets.
In regard to the developments of the pigmeat industry, a strategic study on the island of Ireland was commissioned jointly by my Northern Ireland counterpart and myself, to access the current state of the industry. The main findings of the report identifies rationalisation of slaughter capacity, scaling-up of plant size and better capacity utilisation as necessary prerequisites to positioning the industry to compete on national and export markets and to bring it into line with international best practice.
There were other recommendations, such as improving the reliability and consistency of supply to the secondary processing and catering sectors, as well as the development of the value added sector and promotion of supply chain agreements.
While most of the findings of the study are very much matters within the control of the industry, my Department has been working with the production and processing organisations to further progress the matter, and this initiative is continuing.