Ireland has been the country most effected by the Russian ban on fifth quarter products from the EU according to EBLEX.
It says the beef offal and fats market in the EU has been disrupted since mid-August by the Russian ban. EBLEX outline that Russia had accounted for one third of EU trade so far this year, having more than doubled in comparison with the first eight months of 2013.
It says this market disruption was discussed at the EU Commission’s beef and veal forecast working group meeting held in October, with some countries very concerned about the impact on the beef market from the loss of this trade.
The European Commission subsequently published data covering EU exports of beef offal and fats in total, and the quantity exported to Russia in the January to August 2014 period. The total volume amounted to 123,500 tonnes, with 40,700 tonnes shipped to Russia.
According to EBLEX Ireland has been most affected by the ban, being the largest EU exporter. Ireland’s shipments to Russia in the eight-month period amounted to 8,800 tonnes and accounted for 29% of Ireland’s total exports of 30,700 tonne.
EBLEX says the total value of the EU trade with Russia from January to August amounted to €57 million − not an insignificant amount in terms of its contribution to the EU beef industry.
It says the Russian ban has also had an impact on EU beef exports affecting such countries as Germany and Poland which has further added to the problems on the EU beef market this autumn.