United States expects beef exports to resume by year’s end

Ireland is set to begin exporting millions of euro worth of beef to the US for the first time since the BSE-related ban was imposed in 1997, the US agriculture secretary confirmed during a visit to a Co Kildare farm yesterday.

Tom Vilsack said exports from Ireland could now be a reality rather than a possibility pending the outcome of official US inspections of meat processing here next month, a standard procedure not expected to throw up any problems. Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney, who accompanied Mr Vilsack on his tour of a cattle farm just outside Kill owned by Stephen and Heidi Morrison, said the lifting of restrictions was seen as a marketing opportunity for high-quality beef aimed at the east coast.

His American counterpart arrived in Ireland as part of a broader EU visit to discuss the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTip) with the US.

A former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, Mr Vilsack was appointed secretary of agriculture by President Barack Obama.

Secret service

His arrival at the Morrison family farm was tightly controlled with a heavy secret service and Garda presence. The tour followed meetings with Irish trade officials and included a nearby dairy farm.

Addressing the issue of beef exports by year’s end, Mr Vilsack said: “I don’t think that’s a possibility, I think that’s a reality assuming that the [US] audit that is going to be conducted in July here by our team doesn’t identify any significant problems and I don’t think Simon [Coveney] and I believe it will. So we fully anticipate and expect that trade will resume very shortly thereafter.”

The ban on beef imports from Ireland was implemented in 1997 following concerns over potential BSE contamination, but was lifted earlier this year.

According to Bord Bia estimates, the value of future trade in the niche sector could amount to up to €10 million annually in the short term, rising to as much as €25 million.

Mr Coveney said US inspections of the industry beginning at the end of the month and continuing into July represented an effective “end game” to the cessation in trade and an opportunity for beef farmers to export high-quality produce.

“Tom has been hugely helpful in terms of changing the BSE rule in the US, which hasn’t been without its political challenges,” he said.