AN Bord Bia will put the final touches to a multi million pound plan today to convince consumers in the rest of Europe that Irish beef is safe, clean and not British.
The need for such a programme became evident early in the month old BSE crisis. Beef exports in the EU, worth more than a billion pounds, have been decimated.
At the end of a three day visit to Spain and Italy at the weekend, the Minister for Agriculture was clearly disturbed by what he heard and saw.
Mr Yates had travelled to Spain, which buys more than £12 million worth of Irish beef, to learn that not only was consumption down by half, but Ireland's flagship brand leader in the dairy field, Kerrygold butter, was not being offered for sale in any of Spain's top stores.
In the confusion following the EU ban on British produce, the El Corte Ingles store believed dairy products were affected and Kerrygold butter was taken off the shelves.
In talks with executives from the key retail chain, and other chains, Continente and Simago, Mr Yates managed to get Kerrygold back on the shelves. But he made it clear it would be some time before confidence would be restored in beef, Irish or otherwise.
When the crisis struck, imported beef was top of the target list and buea Irlandes de calidad, (quality Irish store beef) went the way of other imports as people still eating beef opted for native produce.
Life is not as simple for the Italians because their farmers cannot produce enough beef to service the home market. In recent years Irish exporters have won a £54 million share of the 40 per cent deficit in that market.
Italian beef consumption, according to an independent market research, fell by 60 to 80 per cent. The Italian industry is currently moving to capitalise on the situation, and butchers in particular are displaying signs that they sell only Italian beef.
At a press conference with the Minister in Verona on Friday morning, the Irish Ambassador to Italy, Mr Joe Small, said some of the reports about BSE in the Italian papers had been incredible.
"In one paper, a quality one at that, there has been a report that there have been 15 deaths in Ireland caused by BSE. I am writing to the paper to have that report corrected because it is very damaging," he said.
Ms Ashling Roche, who heads the Bord Bia office in Milan, is under no illusion about the effort necessary to win back Irish beef sales.
"We have to win the confidence of consumers. We are very pleased at the loyalty of the importers to Irish beef and we are in the happy position that Irish beef is being offered for sale and customers are given that choice," she said.
Irish beef was on sale at the A&O Unicomm supermarket in nearby Vicenza, where the board had arranged for information leaflets on the quality of Irish beef to be handed out.
Some of the Italian customers were interested in the leaflet, which told the consumer that Irish beef was "a different taste of a different country", safe and healthy. Some were buying, but most were not. Some were far more interested in the horse meat being offered close by at the butcher's counter.
. Britain is considering a total ban on imports of European beef on the grounds that other EU member states have also reported cases of BSE, the Financial Times said today.
The newspaper described the British prime minister, Mr John Major, as "incandescent" after failing on Friday in efforts to end the worldwide ban imposed by Europe on British beef exports.