Russia has dropped its ban on beef imports originating in Co Wexford. The ban remains in force, however, for imports from seven other counties. In a separate development hopes of resuming live cattle exports to Europe were boosted by the announcement by the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, that he has made funding available towards the start-up cost of regular roll-on-roll-off service to assist the direct shipping of livestock to the Continent.
This trade has been blocked because of the refusal of the shipping line, Pandoro, to continue live shipments following protests by animal rights activists in Britain.
The Russian Federation delegation examining production controls in Ireland concluded its work yesterday. The delegation, which was led by the Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Mr Scherbak, and included Dr Avilov, Chief Veterinary Officer of the Federation, signed a new protocol agreement in Dublin
A statement from the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, welcoming the agreement said that as well as lifting the ban on Wexford, the agreement provided for a further review of developments in relation to BSE next January.
In November last year, against a background of rising BSE figures, the Russians imposed a ban on beef from three counties, Cork, Tipperary and Monaghan.
As BSE cases continued to rise sharply at the highest rate of infection for any year to date, the Russians added five more counties last January, banning beef from Limerick, Cavan, Wexford, Meath and Donegal.
Despite the ban, the Russians continued to buy large quantities of Irish chilled beef from other producing counties.
The trade was worth £150 million in 1996 and could be worth up to £90 million this year.
Mr Walsh's said he was particularly pleased with the outcome of the week-long negotiations in so far as it represented the first easing of the restrictions put in place last November.
Any movement lifting the restrictions was particularly welcome given the size of the Russian market and its importance as an outlet for the Irish beef sector, he said.
He was hopeful the process of lifting county restrictions, once begun, could be continued when the agreement with Russia next comes up for review.
"The agreement was possible because BSE remains at a very low sporadic level in this country, and at the same time the effectiveness of our controls enables us to offer the assurances required by our trading partners," said Mr Walsh.