THE Irish farm organisations last night welcomed the dual decisions by the EU Beef Management Committee to raise export refunds by 12 per cent and take an extra 50,000 tonnes of EU beef into intervention in May.
The export refund decision was announced by the spokesman for the Agriculture Commissioner, Mr Franz Fischler, who said the Commission was determined to send a strong signal of support to the market. The spokesman said he hoped the move would restore the demand for export certificates, down now to about 8,000 to 9,000 tonnes a week from more than double that before the BSE scare.
The increase in export refunds was welcomed last night by the Irish Livestock Exporters Association, which said it would help the industry compete in the north African markets.
The meeting also agreed to maintain the temporary maximum weight for beef intervention at 420 kilos and to accept a further 50,000 tonnes into intervention in May, which will also help bring an increase in producer prices.
The Brussels bureau chief of the Irish Farmers Association Mr Michael Treacy, welcomed the decision to increase refunds, which he said would help to bolster cattle prices to producers and make Irish exporters more competitive in their traditional third country beef markets.
The Minister for Agriculture predicted at a press conference in Dublin that the export refund increase would be worth £3.30p per cwt liveweight, or 7p per lb for animals, and would greatly help the industry.
Mr Yates described both moves by Brussels as "major initiatives" and said there was ample evidence now that Ireland's markets were recovering and the Brussels action would help strengthen prices.
He repeated that he would be asking for an increase in premiums at next week's meeting of farm ministers, in Luxembourg to help farmers hit by the BSE crisis.
He would also be seeking a substantial EU funded beef promotion campaign to accelerate the restoration of consumer confidence.
Meanwhile An Bord Bia the Irish Food Board, published research to demonstrate growing Irish consumer confidence in Irish beef following the UK beef crisis.
It said that 82 per cent of Irish shoppers believe it is perfectly safe to eat Irish beef compared to a 74 per cent approval rate three weeks ago.
Of those surveyed 82 per cent said they, would only buy beef for their families as long as they knew it was Irish, and those who took the beef scare very seriously have fallen to 60 per cent.
Mr Yates said yesterday he did not believe his European Farm minister colleagues would lift the ban on British beef next week.