Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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436. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if market access for Irish meat and dairy product is contingent on agreement at EU level as opposed to bilaterally with Japan and Korea in view of the fact that the EU has trade agreements in place with these countries; the process at EU level by which the share of EU quotas will be allocated to member states. [48913/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Market access for meat and dairy products can be made by the EU for either all, or a number of, Member States such as in the case of meat access to Canada. However, most often this market access is agreed bilaterally between the Department and its equivalent competent authority in a Third Country. This was the case in relation to Ireland gaining beef access to the USA in 2015, the first Member State to do so.

Market access to Japan and South Korea for Irish meat products is currently being negotiated bilaterally. These negotiations are not contingent on any EU-level agreements. The recent Free Trade Agreements with South Korea and Japan relate to tariffs imposed on trade. Quotas are not broken down by Member States. Rather, there is a tariff-rate quota for the entire EU.

Ireland gained market access to Japan for beef at the end of 2013. Current trade consists mainly of frozen beef offal, tongues in particular. In 2016, more than 1,300 tonnes of bovine meat valued at €7.5 million was exported. Ireland also has pigmeat access to Japan and in 2016, a total of 4,750 tonnes was exported, at a value of €14.2 million.   

My Department has recently started bilateral negotiations in relation to getting sheepmeat access to Japan. Japanese imports of Irish dairy produce exceeded €14.8 million in 2016 and DAFM has recently agreed, with the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, bilateral export certificates for the export of dairy products from Ireland to Japan. We are one of four EU member states at an advanced stage of negotiations to gain beef access to South Korea. (The others being Denmark, Netherlands and France). I was very pleased to use the recent Trade Mission as an opportunity to seek to advance progress on beef access on a bilateral basis for Ireland, as part of my meetings with Ministers there.

Dairy exports to South Korea amounted to €3.3 million last year.  Both Japan and South Korea have been identified as key strategic markets for future growth in dairy produce.