Department to send vets to Cairo

Veterinary experts from the Department of Agriculture and Food will travel to

Cairo early next week to consult Egyptian officials on the reopening of the

£100 million live cattle trade. The Egyptians had written to the

Department asking it to outline what kind of technical assistance it might provide to Egypt if it resumed the trade, which ended last January because of rising BSE figures.

The Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh, has replied to the queries and is sending two senior vets to Egypt to attempt to smooth out difficulties.

The Egyptians, who purchased nearly £100 million worth of Irish beef in

1994, have agreed in principle to reopen the lucrative trade when the so-called

"technical difficulties" have been agreed.