Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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518. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress on gaining access for Irish meat products, that is, beef, lamb and pigment to China; the remaining stages in the approval process outstanding; and the approximate timeframe for all stages to be completed and full access granted. [15469/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland enjoys market access to the Chinese market for Irish pigmeat  and a number of establishments are approved for export to China. In 2016 Ireland exported almost €120 million or over 70,000 tonnes of pigmeat to China, making it the second largest destination for exports after the United Kingdom. China accounted for 27% of our pigmeat exports in volume terms in 2016. 

As regards beef, getting market access is a major priority for the Department at present. The Chinese lifted the BSE ban on beef from Ireland in 2015, making Ireland the first EU Member State to make this progress, and this was followed by a systems audit visit conducted by the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) in January 2016. As part of the Ministerial Trade Mission to China in September 2016 there was a political meeting with the Chinese AQSIQ Minister and he agreed to expedite consideration of the report of that inspection visit. This report was received in November and replied to in December. Following on from the positive outcome to that audit visit the next stages will be the agreement of a protocol and an export health certificate with the Chinese authorities. This is under active consideration at present by officials from both sides. Once that stage is complete Irish beef establishments will need to be approved to export to China and this normally involves an individual plant inspection visit conducted by the Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA). Both the Department and the Irish Embassy in Beijing have been very active on the outstanding issues on beef and are satisfied with the progress made to date.

As regards sheepmeat, my Department completed a sheepmeat questionnaire in 2014, which was submitted by Minister Coveney during a trade mission that year. However, we are advised by the Chinese authorities that it is only possible to make progress on one species at a time. Once market access for beef is achieved, we will seek to progress further our market access for sheepmeat.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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519. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress on gaining access for Irish meat products, that is, beef, lamb and pigment to South Korea; the remaining stages in the approval process outstanding; and the approximate timeframe for all stages to be completed and full access granted. [15470/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland has enjoyed market access to the South Korean market for Irish pigmeat for a number of years. A certificate was originally agreed before 2000 but has been amended since then. A number of meat establishments are approved to produce pigmeat for export to South Korea and in 2016 exports of around €11 million, or 5,000 tonnes, took place. My Department also hosted a successful pigmeat and dairy re-inspection visit from Korean officials from both the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (QIA) and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) during 2016.

As regards beef, market access to South Korea is a high priority for the market access unit. My Department has completed a number of detailed questionnaires for the South Korean authorities over the years. We also received a visit from an inspection team from QIA in May 2016, who carried out a systems audit on our controls on beef production. The visit went well and they are finalising their report at present. Once their report is completed it would be signed off in Korea by both internal and external professional/technical advisory members before being brought to their Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), of which QIA is part.

The approval process for South Korea is complex and there are a number of stages to complete, many of which take place in South Korea. However, we are satisfied that we are making significant progress.

As regards sheepmeat market access, we have not yet commenced the process with the South Korean authorities as this has not been identified as a high priority by the industry. For example in 2015, according to the OECD, sheepmeat consumption in South Korea was only 0.2 kg per capitacompared to 9.6 kg per capitafor beef and 28.4 kg per capitafor pigmeat.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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520. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress on gaining access for Irish meat products, that is, beef, lamb and pigment to the USA; the remaining stages in the approval process outstanding; and the approximate timeframe for all stages to be completed and full access granted. [15471/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland has enjoyed market access to the USA for Irish pigmeat for a number of years and a number of meat establishments are approved to produce pigmeat for export to the US. In 2016 exports of €25.4 million, or 6,360 tonnes, took place which made the USA the second largest Third Country destination for pigmeat exports after China.

As regards beef, we received a visit from the Food Safety Inspection  Service (FSIS) in 2014 which was followed by the lifting of the BSE ban in 2015. Therefore Ireland was the first EU Member State to get beef access to the USA, which is a testament to the high regard in which Irish beef is held. A total of 8 Irish plants have now been approved for the export of beef and exports of some 2,400 tonnes took place in 2016, which is an increase of 114% on the 2015 levels according to US customs data. 

In July 2016 DAFM received approval to send BIFG (Beef Intended for Grinding) to the USA. This will enhance our ability to export beef to the US, where a very significant demand exists for beef that will be minced and turned into beef burgers. My Department is working with some plants that are interested in exporting non-intact beef, or BIFG to the US. Beef plants that wish to be approved to export manufacturing beef to the US must implement in full the criteria agreed with the US before this trade may commence. My Department is currently working with the interested plants on these procedures.

As regards sheepmeat, we are awaiting the publication of a small ruminant rule on TSEs by the USDA, lifting the ban on EU sheepmeat, before we can make further progress on this issue. However, in anticipation of the lifting of this ban, in August 2016 my Department submitted a detailed questionnaire, or Self Reporting Tool (SRT) on sheepmeat to the USDA. The Department has also raised the issue bilaterally with US officials and remains keen to try and progress this dossier.