Egyptian Agriculture Minister Mr Youssef Wali today reiterated his country's ban on West European beef imports for a further four months.
He said one shipment, stuck in port since December, would not be let in under any circumstances. The shipment is understood to have begun in Ireland but this has yet to be confirmed by the Department of Agriculture.
"The shipment is still at Alexandria and we have not allowed it to enter," the minister said at a consumer protection seminar, referring to a 3,600-tonnes shipment grounded at Egypt's largest Mediterranean port.
The importer is trying to get it through by claiming it arrived on December 20 - meaning it was shipped out before the ban took effect in November, said Mr Wali who is also deputy prime minister.
Egypt banned the import of live cattle, beef and animal-based fodder from the whole of Western Europe for four weeks at the end of November due to concerns over the export of cattle with mad cow disease. The ban was renewed indefinitely in December.
Reuters