Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

With all due respect, no allegation was made. I have reassured the Deputy that horticulture is being given the highest priority by this Government and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. As I have just said, the Minister would be more than happy to respond in more detail to the Deputy with regard the concerns he raises relating to horticulture. I am making no allegations but am simply reassuring the Deputy that horticulture is an issue of high priority.

I am addressing the beef related issues raised in the Deputy's Topical Issue which is before me. Irish beef is now listed with more than 75 high-end retail chains across the EU. This wide portfolio of customers has contributed significantly to higher returns for Irish beef in recent years and reflects the success of Bord Bia's differentiation strategy, which focuses on the main attributes of Irish beef, namely, environmental sustainability, grass-based production systems, full traceability, quality assurance at all stages and superior eating quality.

Since taking office, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has led trade missions to a wide variety of destinations including China, the United States, Algeria, Japan, the Gulf States and west Africa, where he is today, to promote Irish food and beverages, including meat exports. These initiatives have led to several notable successes in securing agreement to export Irish beef to Japan, Singapore, Egypt, Iran, the US, Canada and Oman. The ban in China on boneless beef from Ireland has been lifted for animals under 30 months, thus making Ireland the first and only EU member state to reach this stage. Further work is required before trade will commence and the Department is currently engaging with the Chinese authorities on the technical details.

The beef market in the US was opened in January 2015 and as of the start of November 2015, an estimated 1,300 tonnes valued at €9 million has already been exported. This is a strong start to this trade considering that the first exports only began in March 2015 and some of the plants were only approved for export as recently as September. Ireland has now become the second largest supplier of beef to the Philippines and supplied around 20% of its beef imports during the first quarter of 2015.

The Minister has invited stakeholders to the next round table which will take place on 16 December. The Minister established the round table last year for the purpose of bringing all sectoral stakeholders together and facilitating open discussion between industry, farming organisations and others on the strategic path forward for the beef sector. There have been a number of notable successes from the round table already and the next meeting will see further progress including on establishing producer organisations in the beef sector for the first time.

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