John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 113: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she will report on her recent visit to the Middle East; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3719/07]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I travelled to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as part of the recent trade delegation there led by An Taoiseach.

Saudi Arabia imposed a ban on the importation of beef from Ireland and other EU countries in December 2000, due to concern about BSE. In the years preceding the ban, a substantial trade had developed in the export of Irish beef to Saudi Arabia which was worth some €34m in 2000. To put this in context, Irish food and drink exports to Saudi Arabia were valued at €140m in 2005.

The UAE was also a good market for Irish beef until it was banned in January 2001. In 2000, Irish beef, worth an estimated €17, was exported to the UAE. In 2005 Irish food and drink exports there were valued at €25.4m.

The Saudi Arabian and UAE markets are therefore very valuable markets for Irish food exports and potentially for beef, if the current restrictions were relaxed. I made a strong case during the visit for the full re opening of the beef markets in both countries.

The visit was very successful and I had very positive discussions in Saudi Arabia on the question of Irish food exports in general and beef exports in particular. As a result of these discussions, the Saudi authorities have now offered to send a team of experts to Ireland to inspect our food safety and animal health controls. I trust that the proposed visit will be successful and lead to the re-opening of the market there for Irish beef in due course.

I also had fruitful talks during my visit to the UAE. Although that market is open, only beef from animals under 12 months is eligible and my aim is to have this age limit raised to at least 30 months. I am pursuing this issue with the authorities in the UAE and would be hopeful of a positive reaction.