RUSSIA has extended its ban on Irish beef to five more counties, bringing to eight the number from which it will not accept beef.

It is the third major blow to the Irish meat industry this month, following the closure of the Egyptian market to live cattle exports from Ireland and this week's EU announcement of a 10 per cent cut in export refunds on beef sold outside the Union.

Yesterday Russia announced that the ban on beef exports from Ireland was being extended to cattle bearing identity tags from Cavan, Limerick, Wexford, Donegal and Meath, due to increased levels of BSE in those counties. The decision will become operative from February 10th.

The president of the Irish Farmers' Association, Mr John Donnelly, said tile extension of the ban was unjustified and described it as "arbitrary".

The ban on beef exports from the five additional counties had been signalled by Russian agriculture officials earlier this month. Last October Russia banned beef from Cork, Monaghan and Tipperary because of BSE levels. The extension of the ban means that 40 per cent of Ireland's beef output is no longer acceptable to Russia.

But the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Yates, emphasised that a key element of the Russian decision was a formula which would allow the restrictions to be lifted if the levels of BSE declined. In the case of Limerick and Cavan, the restrictions will be lifted if no new cases of BSE emerge between now and May 1st. Normal trading; arrangement will be restored when there is evidence that the incidence of BSE has levelled off and cases have begun to decline.

According to the Department, the conditions for lifting the ban had not been set down in clear terms before yesterday. But last October Mr Vyacheslav Avilov the Russian Agriculture Ministry's chief veterinary officer, told The Irish Times that the ban on beef exports from Tipperary, Cork and Monaghan would be lifted as soon as BSE levels there fell.

The Russians will be sending a pathologist to Ireland to monitor the analysis of BSE cases in Irish laboratories. Russia already has a veterinary inspector in Ireland.

Mr Yates said Russia was still "filly committed to the continuation of beef trade with Ireland. He was confident Russia would remain the most important market for Irish beef in 1997.

The Russian market is worth £300 million to Ireland, taking up to 350,000 steers, amounting to one third of total steer production in the State. The trade with Russia has only reached its present level over the last four years. Until 1992, more than 80 per cent of Irish beef was going into intervention and the former Soviet Union bought most of its beef from intervention stock.

The level of BSE in the Irish herd of 7.5 million is about one in 100,000. Since the disease was first detected in 1989 fewer than 200 cases have been detected, although more than one third of that total were recorded in 1996. The incidence of the disease rose from 16 cases in 1995 to 74 cases in 1996.

All the counties added to the ban yesterday have had four or more cases of BSE in 1996. Limerick, Meath and Donegal had five cases each during 1996, Cavan had four and Wexford had eight.

The extension of the ban follows three days of intensive negotiations in Moscow between a senior Irish delegation and the Russian veterinary authorities.

The Fianna Fail spokesman on agriculture, Mr Brian Cowen said the ban was "another blow to out beef industry". The Progressive Democrats agriculture, spokesman, Senator John Dardis, accused the Minister of mishandling the BSE crisis.

Mr Frank Allen, president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, said he was "very disappointed" by the extension of the ban. He recognised that the incidence of BSE in these counties had increased but said that the "minuscule numbers of cattle involved did not merit the harsh decision by the Russians".

"There are some positive elements," he said. "Ireland can still export beef to Russia."

Mr John Smith, chief executive of the Irish Meat Association, said the decision to extend the ban was a great disappointment but had not come as a surprise.

The national chairman of the Irish Cattle Traders and Stockowners Association, Mr Albert Thompson, said the ban should not affect prices paid to producers.