Irish beef on menu in Egypt

The minister for agriculture has pledged to seek more markets for Irish produce after it emerged that Irish beef will be sold to Egypt for the first time in almost 20 years.

The agreement struck with the Egyptian authorities ends a ban on EU beef in what had previously been one of the biggest markets for Irish beef in the world.

Agriculture Minister Michael Creed said his department, Bord Bia, and others will now be working to further explore export markets around the world for Irish produce.

The agreement provides for the approval of five Irish plants to begin exports to Egypt once the necessary technical arrangements are in place. Mr Creed referred to the potential of the Egyptian market for Irish beef and said: “We know that prior to their ban on EU beef in the late 1990s it was one of the largest markets for Irish beef at the time.”

Egypt is the largest consumer market in the Middle East and North Africa with 95m consumers, and is the third biggest destination for Irish agri-food exports to Africa with exports of €45m in 2015, comprising dairy and seafood. Egypt announced it was open to live Irish cattle last February. In addition to beef, the new deal also means approval for beef offal and a limited approval for particular types of sheepmeat products.

Mr Creed said: “The search for new third-country markets is a top priority for my department and has taken on an added urgency in the context of the challenges posed by the upcoming UK exit from the EU.”

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association beef chairman, Edmond Phelan, also welcomed the news, saying he hoped it indicated more good news in the near future, such as efforts to secure live cattle trade with Algeria: “With extra cattle supplies, these ongoing efforts to secure new markets are vital. We would also like to see the same efforts put into the potentially lucrative Iran market. ICSA has been lobbying for the reopening of the Irish Embassy in Tehran and has had talks with the Iranian Embassy on this issue.”

In stressing the need to capitalise on new markets, he said the ICSA is also in discussion with the Central Bank on facilitating financial transactions between Ireland and Iran, which currently do not exist.

Mr Phelan also warned that there needed to be a “sensible approach from the Irish processors exporting to Egypt”. “Any advantages to this market opening will be lost if we see factories undercutting each other on price for these contracts.”