The Government has secured improved access to the US beef market, paving the way for exports of manufacturing beef or mince, long regarded as the more lucrative end of the trade.
In a timely boost for the sector, which is heavily exposed to the current uncertainty hanging over the UK, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed said US authorities had agreed to recognise the Republic's raw meat control system as equivalent to their own.
This will allow Irish exporters ship mince used in burgers and other products to the world’s largest beef market, he said.
Up to now, the trade agreement between Dublin and Washington only extended to high-value steak cuts, such as fillet, rib-eye and sirloin, which are a hard sell in the US where most consumers view domestic beef as superior to imported brands.
As a result, the Republic’s beef exports to the US since the lifting of the BSE-inspired embargo early last year have been relatively small, worth about €14 million on an annual basis.
Mince for the burger industry, however, acounts for the bulk of US imports, which totalled one million tonnes last year.
Even a small slice of this trade would be a significant boost for the sector here, which exports more than 50 per cent of its output to the UK.
Minister Creed said the decision by the US, which centred on bridging different hygiene protocols related to E.coli, represented a huge endorsement of Irish beef as well as the industy’s production and regulatory systems.
“As we know, this US market is a potentially huge prize given the size of the market and the demand we know exists there for premium grass-fed beef,” he said.
“We already have first-mover advantage as a result of being the first EU member state to gain entry, which we have been exploiting through various marketing initiatives and this decision now creates an opportunity for industry to become involved in the export of manufacturing beef to the US,” Mr Creed said.
Ireland, the fourth largest beef exporter in the world, remains the only European state with access to the US market.
The US decision clears the way for the Department of Agriculture to approve individual beef plants wishing to export mince to the US.
There are currently six Irish plants approved to export premium beef cuts to the US.
Welcoming the announcement, president of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) Joe Healy said: "It is very important that real delivery is made on accessing new markets for Irish beef, particularly in light of the recent Brexit outcome."
“A lot more work needs to be done in getting more beef plants approved for export to the US,” he added.
Meat Industry Ireland, the Ibec group which represents processors, also welcomed the move,claiming it was an endorsement of the processing, quality and control standards in Ireland.
“Maximising full market access for Irish beef and other meats in international markets has been at the forefront of our agenda. It is critical to optimising market return, to underpinning the growth ambition of the meat sector and is all the more relevant in the context of the uncertainty around Brexit,” the group said.
