Poor WTO deal represents the biggest threat to the beef sector

THE future of the €2.5 billion beef sector will not be limited by the industry’s capabilities but by how it deals with external threats, Meat Industry Ireland predicted yesterday.

Cormac Healy, director, Meat Industry Ireland, the IBEC group representing the Irish meat processing sector, told the Agriculture Science Association national conference in Trim, Co Meath, that at production level Ireland’s strength and expertise is built around its core asset, the national suckler herd.

“Ireland also has world class processing companies with the know-how and professionalism to develop the sector further. This does not mean that improvements are not needed at both production and processing level, but the ability to improve is in our own hands.