IRISH beef exporters can expect to lose up to 40 per cent of the lucrative markets in the European Union, which have been carefully built up over the last decade, because of the BSE crisis.
The first major evaluation of the market share Ireland will lose in international beef markets drawn up by An Bord Bia points to a major decline in exports to our key markets in the EU. Beef exports are worth £1.2 billion.
The report predicted a decline of between 35 percent and 45 per cent in the 100,000 tonnes of beef which we exported to the UK in 1995, our best ever performance there and our largest EU market.
It predicts a 20 to 30 per cent reduction in our 70,000 tonne market in France, a market that the board had hoped would surpass the British one in terms of exports this year.
There will be a 15-20 per cent drop in exports to Italy, a market where Ireland sold 2,000 tonnes of beef last year. It has predicted a similar decline in exports to the Netherlands where last year's tonnage was 21,000.
The largest percentage decline, however, said the report, will be in the German market where exports are expected to drop by up to 50 per cent from last year's high of 11,000 tonnes. The report said that in Germany, beef consumption remains 25 per cent below pre BSE levels.
It said that beef consumption in the EU fell initially by around 40 per cent. Since then there has been a recovery in consumption levels to around 80 per cent of normal.
"Russia has remained the principal market for Irish beef. Exports to the Middle East have been very slow due to poor demand for both beef and cattle."
"Beef consumption levels in the EU are continuing to recover However, local production in most countries is dominating the market and demand levels generally for imported products are well down," it said.