French sheep market under threat
France is Ireland's most important lamb market.
Last year, it took 41,000 tonnes valued at more than 182 million, a 30% increase.
That surge in trade resulted from a scarcity of lamb in France following the foot and mouth crisis and an intensive promotion campaign by Bord Bia.
Following the removal of foot and mouth disease restrictions, Britain has now regained its position as the main supplier of lamb to the French.
Imports from Ireland during the January to August period this year declined by seventeen per cent or nearly 5,000 tonnes to just over 23,000 tonnes on corresponding year earlier levels, reflecting a tight supply situation here.
Against this background, the move by France to remove the spinal cord from lambs over six months is causing concern in the sector.
The proposal is specific to the French market. No other EU member state has gone down that route.
IFA National Sheep Committee chairman Laurence Fallon said a satisfactory solution must be found at the EU Council of Farm Ministers.
The proposal, about to be considered by the French Food Safety Authority, is unscientific and unnecessary and will cause a major disruption to the lamb trade to France.
“If it is not resolved it will create a major new opportunity for extra New Zealand lamb imports at the expense of Irish exports,” he said.
Meanwhile, IFA President John Dillon has urged Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh to immediately change the destocking calculation method for commonage as the current rules are leading to severe losses for many farmers.
He told an attendance of over 1,200 farmers in Castlebar, Co Mayo, that the Minister had allowed a situation develop where up to 6,200 farmers in commonage areas throughout the country had received letters from the Department of Agriculture in the past month, requiring many of them to destock by 150,000 sheep.
Mr. Dillon said the destocking requirement at individual farm level should be deferred, given confusion on the ground following an admission by the Department of Agriculture that it is not ready to deal with the technical issues associated with destocking.
REPS planners have not been consulted on the matter and it is not acceptable that the training programme for planners is only now commencing a full month after the release of the letter, he said.
Mr Dillon set down IFA demands to the meeting, which included the immediate establishment of the Commonage Appeals Body, splitting the stocking capacity between the lowland and commonage, allowing compensation be paid on all sheep destocked including payment leased commonage.
