January 6, 2015

US OK's beef imports from Ireland

Ireland is poised to ship its first beef export to the US since the late 1990s when a ban on meat imports from the EU was imposed due to a mad cow disease outbreak.

The US lifted the ban in March 2014, and Ireland was the first EU member to make the grade after American authorities inspected its production systems. Other EU member countries must pass similar inspections before exports are allowed to resume.

Annual exports are estimated to reach around US$30 million as demand for premium grass-fed, hormone-free beef in the US grows at an annual rate of about 20%. But Ireland's agriculture minister Simon Coveney estimates the US market to be worth as high as €100 million ($119.555 million) to the Irish beef industry this year.  US beef imports in 2014 totalled around €4 billion ($4.8 billion) worth of beef.

"This US market is a huge prize given its size and the demand we know exists there for premium grass-fed beef," Coveney said on national radio.

"We now have first-mover advantage as a result of being the first EU member state to gain entry. There is also the large Irish-American community, which will be a key target of our promotional efforts", Coveney added.

The Irish beef producers' group Meat Industry Ireland has welcomed this new development but it remains cautious until there's clarity on the approval process for producers. It said the exports may be concentrated on premium meats sold in relatively low volumes.