To my utter disbelief, I discovered during recent days that chicken is being imported from China and sold in some major retailers [here in Ireland].
I was shocked to see chicken from China for sale in local stores – in Co. Laois. This chicken, I can only guess, must be virtually untraceable. It makes no sense on any level.
The link between poultry and its ability to carry disease and viruses is undeniable. When you factor in the current outbreak of Covid-19, which appears to have originated in China, how is this acceptable?
Why is this product available in some of our supermarkets? Surely this should not be allowed now – under any circumstances!
There is a suggestion that some of this chicken is processed in a plant not far from Wuhan – which is the location that many media outlets are reporting as the epi-centre of the Covid-19 outbreak. It is ludicrous to think that this chicken might be imported by an Irish wholesaler – a wholesaler that must surely know the origin of such meat.
From Ger Mulhall, Co. Laois
Irish food exports
Looking at the other side of the proverbial coin, Irish food and drink exports reportedly reached a record €13 billion in 2019, according to Bord Bia’s Export Performance and Prospects Report 2019/2020.
2019 represented a mixed year for Ireland’s second pillar of exports – meat and livestock – recording a 1% decrease in value to €3.9 billion.
The decrease was driven by a challenging year for beef and sheepmeat, while there were very strong category performance across both poultry and pigmeat, Bord Bia notes in the report.
Beef production fell by 3% in throughput, which was somewhat offset by a 1.5% increase in carcass weight, which was the result of better grazing conditions in 2019.
Meanwhile, sheepmeat exports were down 7% to €294 million, due to a combination of weakening demand and supply challenges.
In contrasting fortunes, Irish pigmeat export values approached €1 billion for the first time.