Worries about BSE do not seem to have affected the Irish appetite for beef. Demand for beef, and prices, have remained stable for the past year, said Mr Eugene Kierans, a member of the Association of Craft Butchers of Ireland, which represents family butchers.
Prices vary with the cut, the amount of fat and the amount of bone, he said. But a general guideline would be that a pound of sirloin steak would cost consumers between £6 and £7 while a pound of regular mince is in the region of £2, he said.
Mr Kierans, a butcher in Drogheda, Co Louth, said that with the impact of the Celtic Tiger it was more difficult to sell cheaper cuts of meat.
Tesco also has found no falloff in demand for beef, a spokeswoman said. Prices at present are £4.15 a lb for sirloin and £1.67 a lb for minced beef. Organic sirloin costs £5.12 a lb. Last year's figures were not available for comparison.
Again, demand for beef has not declined in Supervalu stores where prices have remained stable over the year due to supplier agreements, with sirloin retailing at £4.29 a lb and beef mince at £1.59 a lb. Demand for organic beef has escalated and Supervalu is at an advanced stage in sourcing enough to supply its shops, a spokeswoman said.
Mr Eamonn Quinn, marketing director for Superquinn, said beef consumption has been going very well. Prices have increased in the past year. "Price effects usually take about three weeks to come into play in the stores, so recent events won't affect shoppers immediately," he said.
In Mittons Butchers in Coolock, Dublin, a spokesman said prices are up 6 to 7 per cent on last year. A pound of sirloin costs £4.49, up from £4.29 last year, while mince costs £1.79 a lb, the same as last year.
Demand has come back from the slump of four or five years ago, but not to those levels again, he said, and there is no demand for organic meat in his area.
The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and Marine is to meet today to discuss the beef industry crisis due to the latest BSE problems in Europe.