DUBLIN: Beef exporters are worried that the much-trumpeted access for Irish beef could dry up too quickly. Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney raised the issue during a meeting with his US counterpart, Secretary for Agriculture Tom Vilack, in Washington.
“It’s a good problem to have in some ways, it shows how much interest there is in this market,” said Mr Coveney. “But this cannot be solved unilaterally.”
Continuity of supply will be crucial for Irish beef exporters targeting the premium end of the US’s 11 million tonnes beef market.
Mr Coveney is in the US following the readmission of Irish product for the first time since a ban was placed on European beef in the wake of the 1990s BSE crisis.
A series of high-profile engagements, along with hostings in restaurants in New York, Washington and Boston, came as the Irish beef industry targets one of the most lucrative markets in the world.
US beef prices have hit record highs on the back of years of successive droughts, which have forced cattle farmers to cull up to 66pc of their herds. With the national herd now at a level not seen since 1951, US prices have rocketed to levels that are 24pc higher than Irish prices.
Larry Goodman’s ABP was the first European company to get its beef back into the US, with a €15m deal with US food distribution giant Sysco this week. All the other major Irish beef exporters have senior representatives in the US with the minister.
