Russia to lift EU beef ban threat

The threat by Russia to ban the import of beef from the EU which could have hit €80 million worth of Irish exports appears to have been averted.

The Russian Federation agreed yesterday to sign a memorandum with the Union averting the imposition of the ban which was to have come into place on January 1st.

"We've agreed to sign a memorandum. Our specialists are now working on the text of this memorandum," Russian agriculture minister Alexei Gordeyev told reporters after meeting EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou.

Mr Kyprianou flew to Moscow yesterday for talks with the Russians on the proposed ban which had been threatened because of concerns over animal health in Bulgaria and Romania which join the EU next year.

Mr Gordeyev said: "From January 1st, supplies of EU [ meat] products . . . to the Russian Federation will continue in a normal manner."

When asked when the memorandum would be signed, he said it would be this morning.

"Tomorrow morning we'll sit at the table and work out the text of the memorandum," Mr Gordeyev added. "Common understanding has been reached and I believe it is purely a technical issue."

EU agriculture ministers met in Brussels yesterday to discuss the situation and agreed to wait until later today for a report from Mr Kyprianou on the issue.

Russia had offered Ireland a unilateral deal on beef exports but last week Taoiseach Bertie Ahern came out in support of the Commission and against negotiating a unilateral deal.

A spokesman for the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mary Coughlan, said she was supporting the common EU agreed approach to the problem at the farm talks.

Ireland has exported 29,000 tonnes of chilled beef to Russia so far this year which was worth €80 million.

In 2005, exports were worth €35 million and in the previous year €48 million. In 2003, the Russians purchased nearly €80 million worth of beef.

Liam Aylward, a member of the agriculture committee in the European Parliament, welcomed the breakthrough in the negotiations and said this was vital because Russia was Ireland's second largest market for beef and food exports.

Irish Farmers Association president Pádraig Walshe gave a cautious welcome to the news, but said he wanted to see full clarification of the agreement reached in Moscow.

It is understood that while Russia is to lift the proposed ban on EU products, a ban on Polish beef is to remain in place despite the breakthrough.

The EU estimated that a blanket Russian ban on imports of EU meat, dairy and fish products would have cost EU producers €1.7 billion ($2.23 billion) annually.