The BSE crisis continued to bite yesterday with the banning of Irish beef by the Philippines despite protests by the Irish authorities.
While the Philippines is not a major customer, it is the largest one to have moved against Ireland in the current BSE crisis, which has caused a severe disruption of the beef markets here.
Last year Ireland exported 8,500 tonnes of beef there and to date this year, they have taken 3,500 tonnes of Irish product, the equivalent of 10,000 cattle.
A Department of Agriculture spokesman said it had taken the matter up with the Philippines authorities, and had told them the ban was unjustified bearing in mind the controls and checks in place in Ireland.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Mr Walsh, yesterday announced a £28.6 million compensation package for farmers to alleviate hardship arising from current difficulties in the beef markets.
He said he was matching the £13.4 million which the EU agreed it would pay to compensate farmers for exchange rate losses arising from the establishment of the euro, from the national exchequer.
In addition, he was providing a further £2.6 million to maintain fully the Irish pound value of the national contribution to REPS and Early Retirement payments.
He said of the total amount, 50 per cent would go to the cattle sector and the money would be paid in the New Year, subject to clearance from Brussels.
The leader of the Irish Cattle Traders' and Stockowners' Association, Mr Charlie Reilly, yesterday rejected the announcement as "cynical" and said the payments had nothing to do with current beef crisis and would have been paid irrespective of any crisis.
The National Council of the Irish Farmers' Association which met in Dublin yesterday called on the Government to press Brussels for a special £100 per head premium to farmers who fatten cattle over the winter.
The IFA president, Mr Parlon, said cattle prices had fallen by up to 12p per head in recent weeks and many farmers have sheds full of cattle with they purchased at 90p per head and now faced ruin as the market collapses.
He said it was very important that the Minister for Agriculture should make this demand at the next meeting of farm Ministers next week and to push for an increase in export refunds as well.
The IFA produced figures yesterday which showed the price of heavy bullocks has fallen from a high of £660 in 1995, before the last BSE crisis, to a current low of £496.
Since May this year, the price being paid for a 525kg bullock has fallen from £605 to £496. This figure is lowest in the past five years.
In the factories yesterday top grade animals were making 8285p per lb and there was little demand for lower grade animals. There was dramatic fall of in the number of animals offered for sale at the mart in Mullingar.