It has taken considerable skill to achieve the breakthrough on the Egyptian beef trade announced on Sunday by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Mr Walsh. This important trade was worth in excess of £200 million last year when the Egyptian authorities, worried about the spread of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in Europe, banned the import of all beef from the EU.
This was a heavy blow to the Irish beef industry.Egypt was our largest single market in terms of volume, taking 40,000 tonnes more than Britain and 15,000 tonnes more than the whole of the rest of Europe. This was, in financial terms, around 10 per cent of total export earnings.
Following months of intense political, diplomatic and technical contact with the Egyptian authorities, the existing ban on importing beef from the EU was continued but an exemption was made for suppliers operating BSE controls such as those in place here. In essence, the Egyptian authorities tailored the conditions under which they would allow beef back into their country again to suit Ireland.
This means that the door of opportunity has been opened for the Irish beef industry to get back into the Egyptian market again, especially if the Government can persuade the Commission to increase export refunds which are necessary to compete in the market.
Even before Cairo imposed its ban in November last year, Irish beef exports there had been coming under increasing pressure from India, Brazil and more recently, China and Australia.
It should be some comfort to the Irish taxpayer that the huge investment made in BSE controls on farms, in factories and rendering plants since 1989, are now beginning to bear fruit. It is expected that when the beef trade resumes again with Egypt, the Saudi and Gulf states will follow suit.
Mr Walsh rightly acknowledged that the break-through involved a concerted effort on the part of the Government. He highlighted the role played by the Department of Foreign Affairs, by the embassy in Cairo and the work done by his colleague, Mr Cowen, Minister for Foreign Affairs.