The Minister for Agriculture and Food has said that Egypt has loosened the conditions applying to the import of Irish beef.
Joe Walsh said that while the Egyptian market has been open to Irish beef exports since October 2001, actual resumption of trade in commercial volumes had been hampered by conditions imposed by the Egyptian authorities on the type of eligible cuts.
In 1999, the Egyptian market imported over 150,000 tonnes of Irish beef worth in excess of £200m and at that time was Ireland's largest market for beef.
However, the trade was stopped in 2000 because of BSE in Europe.
The Minister said the newly negotiated conditions for trade now represent a significant market opportunity and opens the way towards a full resumption of Irish beef exports to the important Egyptian market.
Mr Walsh said today's decision by the Egyptian authorities follows direct contact between himself and the Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister, Dr Youssef Wally.
The Minister had been pressing his Egyptian counterpart to ensure that trade could materialise in commercial volumes following the reopening of the market in late 2001.
It also follows significant effort by his Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs and An Bord Bia who have been working closely with the Egyptian veterinary authorities.
The Minister said the decision by Egypt reflected an increased confidence by the Egyptian authorities in Ireland's ability to guarantee the safety and quality of Irish beef.
