Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is about supplying what the market wants. It is not about what we want. We must provide product that the market will pay for. In Italy there has been a demand for a certain age and quality of animal because that is what Italians want. The beef industry in Italy had a shortage of such animals. In the United Kingdom, the market wants something different. Regardless of what we want or what suits Ireland, the British beef industry has made a judgment call that British consumers want clarity in terms of labelling. Consumers want to know they are buying either British beef or Irish beef. They do not want the confusion of having both countries on the label. That is my understanding of the issue.

We must respond to the market. We export between 85% and 90% of all of the food produced on this island. We target markets where we can make a profit on the basis of what those markets want. The Libyans wanted Irish produce and so we worked hard with live cattle exporters to facilitate that in the earlier part of last year. That was welcomed strongly by the farming community because it happened at the right time and set the trend in terms of beef pricing as the year went on.

There are genuine issues in terms of what the market wants in the United Kingdom, which is the biggest market for Irish beef by a long mile. It is not, however, the biggest market for live Irish cattle. That is because of decisions being made in the UK, not decisions being made here.

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