Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 October 2016
581. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to promote the live export trade for cattle and sheep; his views on the trade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30348/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraLive exports serve a very important purpose as a means of satisfying market demand for live animals and providing alternative market outlets for Irish cattle and sheep farmers. I attach enormous importance to the live export trade, and my Department, along with Bord Bia, has been proactive in encouraging and facilitating such exports.
In recent weeks, almost 1,700 head of cattle have been exported to Turkey and I anticipate further shipments of cattle to Turkey in 2016.
The markets currently open to live cattle from Ireland include Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Montenegro, Serbia and Algeria and most recently Turkey, in addition to the other Member States of the European Union. Animal health restrictions and geopolitical instability have impeded previously large-scale exports to Belgium and North Africa respectively, though small numbers of breeding cattle have recently been exported to Morocco. My Department has agreed health certificates for the export of live cattle to Turkey, Egypt, Serbia and Algeria in 2016 and is currently investigating the possibility of bilateral health certificates for the export of cattle to Kazakhstan.
The exploitation of market outlets, once opened, is a commercial matter for the live export sector, and is affected by the usual variables, including the cost of animals at marts, domestic demand for live cattle, the relative cost of beef on the domestic and international markets, currency exchange rates, transport costs and other factors.
I will continue to ensure that Irish meat and livestock producers have the option of exporting to as many global markets as possible for both processed meat and live sheep and cattle. Next month, I intend to lead a Trade Mission to Morocco and Algeria, with a focus on live cattle exports amongst other things. I will be announcing further details on this in the near future.
