DUBLIN: Irish beef exports to the US amounted to just €6 million in the first quarter of this year, well short of official predictions. And access to China’s rapidly growing beef market has been on hold while final terms are agreed, notwithstanding the recent controversy surrounding Ireland’s UN vote on Beijing’s human rights record.
Despite the much-publicised opening of these markets – Canada and Japan have also rescinded BSE-inspired bans – they have yet to yield any significant expansion in trade.
Figures from the Department of Agriculture show just 700 tonnes of beef, worth €6 million, were exported to the US during the first quarter of 2016, more than a year after the lifting of the US ban.
While this represents an increase on the previous period, it remains significantly below Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney’s prediction that the US, the world’s largest consumer of beef, could take up to 20,000 tonnes of Irish produce, worth €100 million, annually.
Industry sources insist the trade will not pick up until the export licence is widened to include mince, which is underpinned by demand from the burger industry.
The current deal between Dublin and Washington extends only to high-value steak cuts, such as fillet, rib-eye and sirloin, which are a hard sell in the US where most consumers view domestic beef as superior to imported brands.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture said the latest export numbers represented “a strong start to the year” and continued the positive trends from last year.
“The department remains engaged with the US authorities to allow for the extension of exports to include manufacturing beef [mince],” she said.
Differences in the hygiene protocols related to the prevention of e-coli, which many believe are stronger here, still need to be bridged before the licence can be extended.
In the meantime, Ireland’s beef industry remains heavily reliant on its oldest trading partner, the UK, which takes in more than half the State’s total beef exports.
The lifting of the US embargo has prompted other countries, most notably Japan, Canada and China, to follow suit.
The Department of Agriculture is still awaiting the green light from Beijing nearly a year after authorities there signalled an end to their embargo.
Mr Coveney had expected to lead a trade mission to China last autumn to cement the formal reopening of the market but slow progress in navigating the various “technical steps” involved forced him to defer.
The controversy surrounding Ireland’s decision to support a US motion condemning China over its human rights record complicates matters.
Nonetheless, Mr Coveney believes the Chinese market has the potential to be significantly bigger than the US. There is also strong demand for offal and off-prime cuts which Western consumers avoid.
“On China, the department is working closely with the Chinese authorities to finalise the remaining technical steps to allow trade of Irish beef to China to commence,” the department’s spokeswoman said.
“A Chinese inspection team visited Ireland for 10 days in January and we are currently awaiting their report which will determine the next steps,” she added.
