Problems with export markets for dairy products as a result of the foot-and-mouth outbreak should rectify themselves within weeks, Dr Noel Cawley, the chief executive of the Irish Dairy Board, has predicted.
Everything would depend on what happened in the next two weeks when cattle would go out to graze, the testing time for the disease.
Dr Cawley said the certification system under which dairy products could be exported was working. "If there is no outbreak, we will be declared all right in two days," he said.
Meanwhile, Irish meat exports continue to benefit from the disease outbreak in Britain. Britain and the Netherlands account for the bulk of beef exports at present, with the former taking more than twice as much beef as normal, well over 40 per cent of the total. Prices also are up but, according to industry sources, this is because the BSE destruction scheme is ensuring the market is not oversupplied.
With Britain unable to export sheepmeat to the lucrative French market, prices for Irish lamb have increased by between 15 and 20 per cent, although the volume remains much the same.
This year so far, there has been a 35 per cent increase in pigmeat prices across Europe; Irish prices have increased recently by about 7 per cent. The United States, Japan and Russia, the main international markets for Irish pigmeat, remain closed to Ireland and Britain.
The US is importing Irish dairy products under certification. "Everything is getting in. There is a lot of bureaucracy, but you can't complain about that," Dr Cawley said.
Mexico, which takes about £20 million of Irish dairy products, is officially closed. There is no real customer resistance, however. "Early on there was confusion as to whether it was an animal or human disease. Conforming to the procedures, we don't have any problem. It's less of an issue than it was."