Farmers told of huge beef market in new EU

Major opportunities awaited Irish farmers on the European beef market because the enlarged Union now had a beef import requirement…

Major opportunities awaited Irish farmers on the European beef market because the enlarged Union now had a beef import requirement of 300,000 tonnes, over 300 farmers were told yesterday.

Major opportunities awaited Irish farmers on the European beef market because the enlarged Union now had a beef import requirement of 300,000 tonnes, over 300 farmers were told yesterday.Major opportunities awaited Irish farmers on the European beef market because the enlarged Union now had a beef import requirement of 300,000 tonnes, over 300 farmers were told yesterday.

The farmers, who were in Tullamore, Co Offaly, to hear papers on marketing trends following the decoupling of production from farm support payments, were told there were major challenges ahead.

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food, Mr John Browne, told the Bord Bia organised event that the European market was the key to the longer-term success of the industry.

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"With the right mix of products, produced to the highest quality and in the most competitive manner, there is clear home advantage in consolidating the already impressive presence in these markets," he said.

Mr Browne added that the targeting of new markets with consolidation and expansion of existing markets would be the major challenge facing the Irish beef industry during 2005.

"The new departure for agricultural production in a decoupled scenario, historic as it is, provides the perfect platform to enable this industry to grow and prosper in a liberal environment where the market will determine the real value of our production," he said.

"This will enable those that are efficient and well organised to decide for themselves whether the market is giving a return sufficient to enable them to expand production."

Commenting on the industry's market performance, Mr Aidan Cotter, chief executive of Bord Bia, said the industry had made significant progress over the past three years, increasing the share of beef exports sold in Europe from 55 per cent to 90 per cent.

"Last year, Irish male cattle prices increased as a percentage of the EU average from 88 per cent to 94 per cent , the best commercial performance since pre-BSE market conditions in 1995," he said.

"The challenge in the post-decoupling era is to continue to build on this performance, so that producers are adequately rewarded by the market and current production levels are sustained," he said.

He said the deficit in the European beef market provided grounds for encouragement but did not mean that success would be automatic. "We still need to win new markets and new segments of existing markets and we need to win the best customers in the markets in which we compete."

The chairman of the National Livestock Committee of the Irish Farmers' Association, Mr John Bryan, said beef finishers should demand and hold out for a base beef price of €2.80/kg (€1/lb) this January.