Peak prices for ‘lucrative’ manufacturing beef in the US have passed, but the market still holds opportunity for Irish beef exports, according to Meat Industry Ireland (MII).

A spokesperson for the organisation which represents beef factories said that domestic beef production in the US is recovering, but it still remains a valuable market for Ireland.

During the first three months of the year, Irish beef exporters shipped €6m worth of beef to the US. This followed €11m worth of Irish beef exports to the US in 2015.

“While current export volumes to the USA are lower than we would have hoped, it is nonetheless an important outlet for the type of cuts involved and helps to take some pressure off traditional outlets in a challenging European beef market,” the MII spokesperson said.

The MII spokesperson also said that Ireland is still awaiting full access to the US beef market, as approval to supply manufacturing (mince) beef has not yet come through.

We understand that all information and submissions have been supplied to the US authorities by the Department of Agriculture here and the delay is now on the US side.

“MII is very keen to see this final obstacle cleared and urges Minister Creed to do everything possible to complete this process,” the spokesperson said.

MII calls for more international market access

The association representing meat factories also said that access for Irish beef and other meats is top of its agenda at present.

According to MII, Irish processors are extremely anxious to build on existing progress to maximise the number of markets fully open to Irish beef.

We have called on Minister Creed to ensure that more resources are deployed to the area of market access in his Department.

“This is a critical issue for us. The European beef market is very challenging at present,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also said that beef consumption in the EU market has dropped by 800,000t in recent years due to the recession and weaker consumer spending.

And, it says that this has been exacerbated this year with the additional beef volumes coming onto the market on to the Continent due to the difficulties in the dairy market.

Obstacles to beef trade must be tackled

The spokesperson for MII also said that it is essential that the number of international markets available to Irish beef is maximised.

“This means completing the access to the US market, as well as finally securing access to the Chinese market, which we believe offers great potential for Irish beef exports in the future and would become a very sustainable and complementary outlet for the sector.”

However, the spokesperson said that there are many other traditional international markets for Irish beef that are limited by various conditions in certification arrangements.

“These obstacles must be tackled.”