An application for Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status for ‘Irish Grass Fed Beef’ has been submitted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to the European Commission for review.
If the application is successful, Irish beef will be granted PGI status giving it a status as a premium product, which would be considered superior to equivalent beef products on the market that do not have PGI status.
While this would be great news and would likely assist greatly in the marketing of Irish beef, many beef farmers find themselves asking: “Well, what’s in it for me?”
The question was put to the chairman of the Beef Taskforce, Michael Dowling, at an Oireachtas committee meeting on Tuesday, July 6.
Dowling noted that the taskforce reached an agreement on the application to be put to Brussels but said:
“We can’t determine its outcome as a success until we hear back from Brussels.”
He noted that while “nobody is prepared to say exactly what premium will come from it, the information we have is that in general in Europe there is something close to a 10% premium for a product which has PGI status, over the equivalent product which doesn’t”.
Dowling added that “nobody can guarantee that at this stage” but added the expectation would be that “there will be a reasonable premium”.
Assuming Irish beef is granted PGI status and secures a 10% premium, at a current base price of €4.30/kg for heifers, that would equate to a 43c/kg bonus to farmers supplying beef that meets the eligibility criteria of the PGI status.
At the meeting it was also highlighted that “when the PGI is successfully established for Irish beef”, an oversight group should also be established “to ensure producers have an input and an understanding of the bonus that arises”.
The Oireachtas committee meeting also heard that “there is no exact equivalent product to it in Europe”.
However, it was noted that “Scottish beef and Welsh beef qualified for PGI status under less onerous regulations than we [Irish PGI submission] are facing at the moment”.