Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is hard to escape the fact that the French overcame the issue in eight months and the English in 12 months, whereas 16 months later we are still here. I am sure the French are providing certification which meets the standards the Chinese can accept. It seems to me that there is no action. Maybe we should ask the French for advice on how they overcame the issue. A substantial market is potentially available. In 2015, one supplier sent 225 tonnes to China at a value of €1.8 million. We could potentially have had an export market of more than €5 million this year if this had not been in place. Surely the French are very proud of their standards of certification in their food industry. I am sure the English are too. Here we are, it has been almost double the time and we have no access.

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