Meat Industry Ireland (MII) has ruled out changing terms on factory specifications for the 30-month age limit for slaughtering cattle.
Speaking on Today with Miriam O’Callaghan on RTE Radio 1 this morning, Monday, August 26, director of MII Cormac Healy outlined the Ibec processor representative group’s stance on the issue of market specifications following talks with the Beef Plan Movement and the other main farm organisations which concluded last week.
Speaking on the matter, Healy said: “A lot of issues were dealt with in the course of the talks; Beef Plan put forward an agenda of 13 items and nine of them were addressed.
“The principle outstanding issues were around specification and market specification. The specification for many of the key customers of Irish beef is for under 30-month beef.
In addition, we have the Chinese coming to do inspections in meat plants and hopefully approve more beef plants in Ireland in the coming week and 10 days to export more.
Continuing, the MII director added:
“The Chinese requirement is 30 months; it’s laid down in the veterinary certificate agreement between the Department of Agriculture and the Chinese authorities.
“These are elements that are laid down – so if we are to supply we need to supply with under 30 months.
It can’t be budged on – and it would be wrong also in the context of trying to get the best for Irish beef in terms of our export markets; looking eight weeks away from Brexit, that we look to deconstruct some of the key specifications that are there.
“We need to be doing everything possible to hold on to customers.”
Turning to the issue of the four-movement rule, Healy said that “98 or 99% of animals” currently meet that requirement, giving an estimate that, on average, animals in Ireland move about 2.5-2.8 times in their life.
The director added that the specification is “achievable” and is “important to keeping the customers for Irish beef”.
He said that the position of not shifting on either rule was outlined in the talks.
“One thing that was said was that farmers were looking for an independent review of some of those and validation of those.
They have been validated in the past; but one of the things that was agreed during the talks was that there would be a further ministerial led validation of those.
“The minister will appoint people to speak with customers and verify and validate. These are not rules that were just conjured up,” Healy said.
“These are rules coming from the market place, these are requirements coming from the market place, and if we want to supply the better end of customers across European countries – and now increasingly in international markets – we’re simply saying we have to produce what the market is requiring,” Healy concluded.