The Egyptian market could reopen for Irish beef in the coming weeks, following the decision by a major Egyptian meat importer to send a veterinary inspection team to Ireland.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that two Irish meat processors have been fulfilling contracts in Egypt with beef they have been importing from Brazil.

Kepak, the Co Meath-based beef processor, is expecting an Egyptian shipment inspection team within the next few weeks to oversee the slaughtering and processing of an initial shipment of beef for Egypt. But a company spokesman said that no agreements had been reached. It is understood that the team will work with Kepak only and not with any other beef processor.

Under a protocol agreed between the Irish and Egyptian governments last October when the market reopened officially, all cattle slaughtered must be under 24 months. However, since then, no Irish beef has been exported to Egypt.

Irish prices have been uncompetitive compared with other suppliers to Egypt and there was the additional difficulty of sourcing finished cattle under 24 months.

Before it closed in December 2000 following the BSE crisis, Egypt was the single most important export market for Irish beef. In 2000, it accounted for 30 per cent of exports by volume, worth €254 million, including EU export subsidies, and was the Egyptian market's main source of supply.

Since the market reopened to Irish processors, two Irish companies - one of which is Agra Trading, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kepak - have been supplying Brazilian beef to Egypt. The meat does not physically come through Ireland, but is traded in to replace some of the Irish beef that would have supplied the Egyptian market.

Irish companies also are importing up to 14,000 tonnes of beef a year, mainly from Brazil and Argentina, into Ireland, as was disclosed in a Bord Bia survey earlier this week. The Kepak spokesman said Kepak was not one of the companies importing meat from Brazil into Ireland.

"Bord Bia would welcome any development in the reopening of trade with traditional markets such as Egypt. It's good news," Mr Owen Brooks, manager of international markets for the food board, said yesterday.

However, trade sources caution that, because of the state of the Egyptian economy, a return to the high level of imports of 2000 is unlikely and competition will be severe. A major marketing initiative will have to be mounted by Irish companies to recover their market share.