January 23, 2009
Irish pork exports remain low after dioxin scare
Consumption of pork has returned to "relatively normal" levels in Ireland after a recall of pork products due to dioxin contamination, but other countries remain reluctant to buy Irish pork, Irish officials said on Thursday (Jan 22).
The dioxin contamination in Ireland caused products to be pulled from shelves in more than 20 countries in December.
Production and sale of pork approved as safe by Irish authorities restarted soon after the scare.
Chairman of the agriculture committee of Ireland's houses of parliament, Johnny Brady said that sales of pork have recovered so quickly in the home market is encouraging and emphasises that consumers have rightly kept faith in Irish pork.
Brady said that the decline in value of exports is worrying.
He added that this is a vital outlet for Irish pork and any long-term reduction could have serious implications for the sector.
He said Irish pork exports were valued at about EUR368 million (US$476 million) in 2007 with 129,000 tonnes exported to 40 markets worldwide.
He also said there is still reluctance among some existing customers in Britain, Europe and Asia to buy Irish pork products following the dioxin contamination.
US$1 = EUR0.77 (Jan 23)
