A move which would have affected Ireland's lamb exports to France has been put back to the end of the year. The French authorities have postponed implementing an order which would have raised the export costs.
France unilaterally decided that the spinal column of sheep aged over six months would have to be removed as part of their consumer protection plans.
It had threatened to implement the regulations from January 1st last but, under pressure from the European Commission, postponed the move until July 1st.
However, following lobbying last week and negotiations involving the Irish Commissioner, Mr David Byrne, the French have postponed the implementation of the regulation until January 1st, 2003.
France is Ireland's largest outlet for sheepmeat and the trade was worth €260 million last year, an increase of 41 per cent, fuelled by Britain's inability to export because of foot-and-mouth disease.
While a high proportion of the 41,000 tonnes of Irish lamb exported to France is under six months old, exporters were concerned at the increased costs involved in removing the spinal columns.
It has been estimated that the costs involved in removing the spine would increase the price of a carcass by 10 per cent.
The British government, already angered by a unilateral ban on its beef by France, had threatened to take the French to the European Court over the issue.
The ban had been aimed primarily at British sheep because of the high level of scrapie disease in the national flock there and the fear that this could disguise BSE.
Ireland recently completed a programme to destroy all flocks of sheep in which scrapie had been found to be present.