July 15, 2010

Irish beef sector fears Mercosur deal impact

The Irish beef industry is concerned about the impact of what the deal with South America's trading bloc, Mercosur, would have on the high value beef cuts in the EU market.

Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith expressed his concerns to EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht at a meeting in Brussels. The minister told Commissioner de Gucht that beef quotas of 300,000 tonnes, which have been sought by Mercosur, would certainly target the market for high-value product, and would seriously undermine the Irish industry.

Minister Smith also said environmental considerations should be factored into any agreement. The Common Agricultural Policy ensured that EU beef was produced in a sustainable manner with reduced carbon emissions, and the same could not be said for South American production where emissions were well in excess of Irish levels.

These concerns have already been raised to Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos on Monday (July 12).