US beef market move will be boost for West

THE re-opening of the United States market for Irish beef should be another major boost for the trade and for West of Ireland suckler/beef farmers in 2015, according to IFA livestock representatives.

Earlier this week, Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, confirmed the re-opening of the US market for Irish beef following a lot of behind the scenes work over recent months.

Minister Coveney said that he was delighted with the news, something that represented a great boost for the Irish cattle industry.

East Galway Fine Gael TD, Paul Connaughton, said that the news was particularly good for West of Ireland weanling producers.

“West of Ireland farmers are producing top quality Limousin, Belgian Blue, Charolais and other continental weanlings. These are top quality animals and they should be in great demand into the future,” said Deputy Connaughton.

He said that the US market should be opened up over the coming months with up to 2,000 tonnes entering the American market during the course of 2015.

“Ireland is the first European country to access the US market and I hope that we can build on this and double the quantity of beef going into America.

“I would also like to commend the great work carried out by Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney over the past two years to achieve this. It is significant that Ireland is the first country to achieve this access and being first into the market should give us a competitive advantage,” said Deputy Connaughton.

IFA President, Eddie Downey, said that over the course of the past year, there had been major increases of up to €1/kg in the prices being paid in the US for beef, bringing the current base price up to around €4.70/€4.80/kg.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.