The money from Irish beef exports to China is “money that the Irish farmers and Irish beef sector cannot afford to lose”, according to one TD.
Cork Southwest independent TD Michael Collins was speaking in the Dáil when he called on the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, to ensure that the government takes all steps necessary to prevent a repeat of the long-term ban on Irish beef from entering the Chinese market such as occurred in May 2020.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine confirmed on Tuesday (November 7) that beef exports to China are currently suspended after tests confirmed a case of atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
The animal in question was a 10-and-a-half-year-old cow and was identified during the department’s on-going systematic surveillance of fallen animals at knackeries.
The animal did not enter the food or feed chain and there are no public health risks associated with this case.
Despite that, beef exports from Ireland to China are once again suspended, as they were for almost three years from May 2020 to January 2023 on foot of a previous atypical BSE case.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue said this week that there is “very good” demand at the moment from many other export markets for Irish beef, and he is not worried that the case will impact beef prices.
However, independent TD Collins said that the monetary value of Irish beef exports to China is nonetheless significant.
In 2019, the last (and, so far, only) full year in which Ireland had access to the Chinese market to export frozen boneless beef, the value of these exports was some €40 million.
“We are talking here of a beef export market to China worth at least €40 million. That is money that the Irish farmer and the Irish beef sector cannot afford to lose, especially as numerous other factors, such as the nitrate issue, are also bearing down upon them,” Collins said.
“I understand that checks have to be put in place but, ultimately, what we are talking about here is a single case of atypical BSE that has not entered the feed or food chain in any way whatsoever,” he added.
“There is an excellent reason why Ireland has been granted negligible BSE risk status at the international level and that is down to our dedication to quality and safety in food production.
“We must not allow this case to diminish or threaten that status and we must work to re-open the Chinese market as soon as possible,” Collins said.