Farmers around the country are stunned following Egypt's decision to put a temporary ban on beef imports from Europe. That move hits Ireland worst of all as £200m of our beef goes there annually. Egypt will continue to take meat imports under existing contracts but the industry here faces turmoil if licences are not renewed. Diplomatic efforts are underway to have the problem defused quickly. Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh spoke by phone to the Deputy Prime Minister Dr Walli this morning. Dr Walli said that there was no specific problem with Irish beef, the problem lay in the European context.
The Egyptian Ambassador here, Ashraf Rashed, said that he hopes that the problem can be solved speedily. Bord Bia are outlining Ireland’s anti-BSE measures to important customers all over the world. They say that it is too early to talk about a so-called meltdown of the Irish beef sector. Meanwhile meat processors here say that not alone are cattle building up on farms, meat stocks are building up in the factories. The processors say that they must be compensated for any losses and have again demanded that intervention storage be reintroduced. It is the peak killing time of the year but processors say slaughterings are expected fall sharply again next week.
Some live exporters have stopped buying animals here saying they cannot compete abroad because France and Germany are dumping cattle on international market. EU farm ministers meet in Brussels on Monday and the beef industry is hoping they can come up with a formula to satisfy international purchasers. If they do not, the crisis could surface on the agenda of the EU Summit in Nice on Wednesday.
The Minister for Agriculture said that he is hopeful that the ban on Irish beef can be sorted out in days. Two senior civil servants will travel to Cairo today. Joe Walsh said that he might go to Egypt, if the problems are not resolved at Monday's meeting of EU agriculture ministers. Our trade with Egypt will continue while current contracts are filled. The industry here is holding its breath that ban can be lifted before trade is damaged.
Meanwhile, Ireland was one of the EU countries that failed to support a proposed meat and bone meal ban when the issue was discussed by EU veterinary experts in Brussels this afternoon. The European Commission proposed the ban yesterday as part of its campaign to address the BSE crisis. But it got just 54 votes, well short of the minimum 69 required, with Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands abstaining and Sweden, Finland, Great Britain and Belgium voting against. The proposal will now be considered by EU farm ministers on Monday and they have the power to sanction the Commission's plan. The EU's Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner, David Byrne, confirmed this evening that he intends to seek support for the measure on Monday.
