There was more good news for the beef industry yesterday with the announcement by the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, that agreement had been reached with Lebanon on reopening the live cattle trade. Spain agreed to take Irish cattle on Wednesday.
Trade with Lebanon has been stopped since the BSE crisis late last year. In the year to that time 60,000 finished animals had been exported there. One of the main exporters to Lebanon, Mr Alan Dillon of Dillon Livestock, said he expected the trade could resume in July with the potential to take between 120,000 and 140,000 animals.
The announcement came following the Minister's publication of a Food Agency Co-operation Council report, Market Trends-Implications for Suppliers and State Agency Initiatives.
Mr Walsh said the report provided comprehensive information on the routes to market, whether retail, food service, food ingredients and e-tailing (purchase of food on the Internet). It would assist food-suppliers to understand and respond to trends in the marketplace.
The chairman of the body, Mr Padraic A. White, said the report would provide existing food companies and would-be entrepreneurs with the most informed and reliable guidance on opportunities available in the industry.