Meat Industry Ireland (MII) director Dale Crammond has said that 2024 has been “a positive year” for Irish beef exports. He affirmed that MII aims to “build on this momentum and continue to drive demand for Irish beef in 2025”.
Speaking to Agriland, the MII director said: “Irish beef continues to be enjoyed by consumers all over the world, due to our high standards of animal welfare, our world-class traceability system and not least, the eating-quality of the beef we produce.”
He described the year of 2024 as “a promising year for the beef sector, despite some obvious challenges”.
Crammond acknowledged that weather conditions in spring 2024 proved challenging and delayed the arrival of finished cattle coming off grass but on a more positive note added that “significant value has been returned to farmers throughout the year thanks to the hard work and dedication of MII members”.
Commenting on market access, the MII boss said: “We made some positive advancements in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Bord Bia.
“We were delighted to see Irish beef exports extended to South Korea for the first time. While the temporary suspension in South Korea was frustrating, it was great to see the trade recently resume.”
He highlighted that the “the one very negative development was the agreement on Mercosur” and said that MII “will work very closely with the farm organisations to oppose this deal in 2025”.
“Retention of the Nitrates derogation in 2025 is also critical for our industry,” he said.
Beef sector emissions progress
The MII director highlighted that the Irish beef sector contributed to “an overall reduction in the greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory with a figure of 4.6% delivered in 2023”.
Crammond explained that MII’s latest Sustainability Progress Report for Irish beef, which was published in October this year “observed a 4% reduction in absolute emissions in the beef sector, and a 13% drop in the rolling three-year average beef carbon footprint”.
He noted that progress on earlier finishing “has stalled a little over last year or so” but said: “I think this was inevitable given the poor weather” and stressed that “early intervention in calf rearing is key to getting us back on track”.
“It was great to see more focus on calf rearing in the election manifestos and it is critical now that these commitments are carried forward into the new programme for government.”
“It must be remembered that earlier finishing is the single most important mitigation option in the Teagasc Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC), so government support is critical.”
“In addition, the industry continues to fund the National Genotyping Programme, (NGP) and over time this programme will deliver more GHG-efficient animals through breeding improvements.
“Separately, but equally important, is an improvement in water quality,” the MII director stressed.
He affirmed: “The industry is fully engaged with the Local Authority Water Programme (LAWPRO) and the Teagasc advisory network to support beef farmers to unlock funding under the €60 million Water European Innovation Partnership (EIP).”
The MII director emphasised that “targeted actions in priority action areas, if given time, will improve water quality” and said “this is critical to maintaining the Nitrates derogation in the long term”.