Roundwood Park Livestock Limited has confirmed that its scheduled livestock departure – of up to 1,200 bulls and bullocks – to Algeria for this Friday, May 15, has been cancelled.
Describing the decision as “regrettable”, in a statement the exporter outlined that it had come to this conclusion following issues that emerged regarding health certificate requirements that had been set out by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine at a meeting between both parties in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, on Saturday, May 9.
While both sides had agreed (in writing) to the conditions “in principal” at the meeting, Dr. Ahmed Salman of the Wicklow-based company said he also “verbally stated” that one of the conditions in particular – relating to the 10-day withdrawal period of anthelmintics (pour-on anti-parasite medication) – was “not achievable”.
In a statement to AgriLand, Roundwood Park Livestock said: “At a meeting between the company and Department of Agriculture officials the department set a condition which the company insists is simply impossible to meet.
“The condition required that farmers dose all cattle for export with a particular medication at the latest yesterday, Sunday [May] 10.
“They refused to allow dosing at the mart prior to loading.
“The impossibility of complying with this condition for a medication – which is not readily available and where outlets are closed on Sundays – is self-evident,” it was outlined.
Following the meeting – which also included farmer representation from the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) – a spokesperson for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, issued a statement to AgriLand confirming that the boatload – the second consignment from the company – was expected to depart for the North African country this coming weekend.
It also stated that department officials had reiterated a number of points in terms of what is expected in the context of animal welfare and safety in transport – particularly its stance of not allowing horned animals to be ship-loaded for transport.
The spokesperson said: “All points were agreed to by the exporter.”
However, in its statement today, Roundwood Park Livestock Limited challenged this remark.
“Contrary to a statement issued to AgriLand by a spokesperson for the minister that ‘all points were agreed to by the exporter’, there was no agreement on this condition and the statement is misleading.
“It is unfortunate no one from Roundwood Park Livestock Limited was contacted prior to the statement being issued on behalf of the minister.
“The ship is now diverted to France from where the Algerian contract will be serviced for now,” the statement from the exporter concludes.
Department position
In a further statement on the matter this afternoon, the department said it has been advised by the promoter that the proposed shipment of livestock to Algeria, due to take place this Friday, has been “postponed”.
The statement outlines: “The department met with the exporter, and his associates, on Saturday at which time the processes and protocols necessary to enable the export [to] proceed were agreed.
The exporter reverted on Monday morning indicating that the export would not proceed on this coming Friday as it was not possible for him to have sufficient quantity of compliant animals for export assembled by then.
The department highlighted that it will work with all exporters in the expectation that shipments of livestock to Algeria will take place in the future.
“The department has been working hard in developing the livestock trade with Algeria; these efforts included a trade visit to the country in February 2020.
“Minister Creed has been a strong supporter of live exports throughout his tenure as minister which has seen live exports double during his time in office.”
The department highlighted that live export trade opportunities now exist with several third countries including: Libya; Turkey; Egypt; Tunisia; Algeria; Lebanon; Morocco; Russia; and Kazakhstan.
“Having acquired access to these markets the department works to ensure that all exports have veterinary certification in accordance with each importing country’s specific market requirements.
“Since the beginning of this year, 9,763 animals were successfully exported to third country markets,” the statement concludes.
‘Unreasonable’
Speaking to AgriLand this afternoon, Dr. Salman said he had hoped that a “workable solution” could have been reached on the matter.
“Because horned animals are not allowed we are short about 350 animals. So these [additional] 350 animals are not going to be ready if the farmer hasn’t given them the anti-parasitic before they get to the boat. So they will be rejected.
“There is no way we are going to sit there with half a load because we would lose a lot of money. We looked at the financial viability of this exercise and the risk – and we decided this is just not doable.
“We were very clear when we signed the letter about this issue – a representative from the IFA was there to hear that.
“It is a working document and we agreed to it in principal – but it’s not workable.
“Anyone with any logic would understand that leaving that meeting at 1:00pm on Saturday and believing that we could get our farmers or vets to go around to 50-something farms in Ireland to use pour-on on the cattle is just not workable.
“Once animals get to Algeria they rest for three-to-four days. They don’t just jump off the ship and into a slaughter house, so it’s an unreasonable request – but this is where we are,” he said.
Future prospects
When asked if a resolution on the matter could be reached to secure future shipments, Dr. Salman said: “There is always a workable solution; but we are being faced with nothing but difficulties.
“The farmers are the only people that are going to lose out on this. They are 100% behind us; but sending a ship half full is financial suicide; the risk is huge for us.
“I’ve always been available to talk to the department and we can look to the future absolutely. But we need a bit more support from the department to make this happen. The Algerian market is huge and we are only tipping the iceberg,” he said.