Ms Tara McCarthy:

We mentioned this only briefly. We have not spoken much about Brexit in this session but Brexit and climate change are the two major issues facing the fundamentals of our industry. I do not know when the end of Brexit will be. Will it be October or will it last even longer? If it is October, markets in Asia will not be ready to take 200,000 tonnes or 300,000 tonnes of Irish beef. It would not have been ready in March either. We have had access to the market in China since last April. The first products arrived in September but exports at the moment stand at less than 10,000 tonnes. It is 4,000 tonnes and not hundreds of thousands of tonnes.

Deputy Martin Kenny mentioned that Ireland has a fantastic reputation. We do in certain categories but our beef is not known in Asia, for the most part, at a scaled level. We are brand new in that market. There was no beef from Europe in the market until we got access and this concept of beef from Europe is a very new one. We have much work to do to build our brand and expand our exports in Asia. If the question is whether that market will take 200,000 tonnes in the next two to three years, I have to state that will not be the case. That level of exports has not been forecast by anyone. We are exploring the longer term and Asia is providing very strong signals to the floor of global prices. That is a positive for us. It is beneficial for European beef when the floor of global prices rises. We are then able to explore new opportunities and it also provides other outlets for South American beef. I am not, however, seeking in any way to give the impression that markets elsewhere will compensate for our being out of the United Kingdom market.