IRELAND'S £300 million beef export trade to Russia is now threatened by negotiations on alternative sources for meat supplies as the Russian media continue to highlight Ireland's BSE problems.
The Moscow city authorities have begun negotiations with Argentina with a view to sourcing beef imports from countries other than Ireland.
A Russian veterinary team is due to fly to Buenos Aires next week to inspect Argentinian veterinary procedures.
The team may be led by Mr Vyacheslav Avilov, the head of the veterinary section of the Russian agriculture ministry, who has been involved in talks with Irish officials on the banning of imports from the Irish counties most affected by mad cow disease.
Mr Vadim Korbut of the Agricultural Committee of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, told The Irish Times that the negotiations were in progress and that Argentina was the country most likely to benefit from Ireland's BSE problems.
"There are also likely to be increased imports from the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and despite local difficulties, Ukraine will continue to be a major supplier" he said.
"In Russia east of the Urals, beef imports are expected to come mainly from Australia," he added.
Last night a spokesman for An Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, said its Moscow office was aware of the negotiations taking place between the Argentinians and the Russians.
"We do not see them as a huge threat because their beef will cost the Russians $200 to $300 more a tonne than European beef. Our major concern is from other European countries like Germany and France," he said.
"We are, however, monitoring the situation," he added.
Beef from eight Irish counties is currently banned in Russia as part of an agreement based on a county-by-county examination of BSE levels. The ban is subject to review every three months.
Earlier this month the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, discussed beef exports with the Russian Prime Minister, Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin, during his stopover at Shannon and expressed confidence in the future of Irish beef exports to the Russian Federation.
Argentinian officials are currently negotiating with officials from Moscow's Department of Food Resources, and representatives of the wholesale and refrigeration departments are also present.
It is understood that the warehouses under the control of the city's refrigeration department are badly in need of renovation and that a deal with Argentina could include a commitment towards the upgrading of these facilities.
Argentina, once one of the world's largest beef exporters, has been badly hit in the past by foot-and-mouth disease. Rather than embarking on a policy of slaughtering herds it has instead vaccinated cattle against foot-and-mouth.
It is currently free of incidence of foot-and-mouth disease, but the vaccination policy places its beef in a lower category on international markets than those countries, including Ireland, which have been free of the disease for very long periods. The Russian team will be involved in inspecting meat plants to evaluate Argentina's ability to ensure that foot-and-mouth disease is excluded from the food chain.
There have been, however, no reported cases of BSE in Argentina, and Russian consumers are far more aware of BSE and Creutzfeld-Jacob disease than of foot-and-mouth, due to high-profile coverage in the local media in which BSE and Irish beef have become synonymous.
In the past week the country's most respected newspaper, Izvestiya, compared Irish beef imports to another hot topic on the Russian scene and headlined its coverage: "Cow madness marches eastwards faster than NATO." It reminded its readers that in Moscow "every second steak, cutlet or hamburger from imported beef" was of Irish origin.
The newspaper carried a letter outlining Ireland's position on the issue from the Ambassador in Moscow, Mr Ronan Murphy, but also a commentary from an agricultural specialist, Mr Sergei Nikolsky, who argued that Ireland's policy on BSE might not be sufficient to eradicate the disease.
Ireland still holds a major cost advantage over non-EU exporters due to export subsidies.
