April 27, 2007

Ireland invests 50 million euros for beef and sheep meat

A 50- million euro investment aid package for beef and mutton processing sectors was launched by Ireland Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan.

The initiative was funded by the Government under the National Development Plan 2007-2013 and will be managed by Enterprise Ireland on behalf of the Department of Agriculture and Food. The financial support is expected to generate additional 120 euro million worth of investments for the beef and sheep meat processing which earned 2 billion euros in 2006.

The fund, according to Coughland, is also designed to support capital investment, which is expected to increase scale in primary processing, increase added value in further processing and improve efficiencies to allow Irish companies compete internationally.

She said there had been a dramatic shift in the market focus of the Irish beef sector in the past few years as the industry now sells close to 90 percent of its fresh meat exports to the EU. Ireland has been dependent on beef for several years, Coughlan said.

Coughlan said the fund will consolidate Ireland's position in the EU market where quality of product and efficiency of the supply chain are essential components. Meat Industry Ireland (MII) spokesperson Cormac Healy welcomed the support, stating such an initiative is essential to achieve improved structure, scale and efficiencies in the processing sector to ensure that the industry is equipped to meet the challenge of global competition, particularly inherent in the WTO negotiations.