Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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200. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the beef and ground beef manufactured here exported to the United States of America on an annual basis over the 2015 to 2018 period in volume and euro value terms, in tabular form. [2273/19]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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201. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the exports of beef, lamb, pigmeat and dairy to the USA in volume and euro value on an annual basis over 2015 to 2018 period, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2274/19]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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202. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress on gaining access for meat products, that is, beef, lamb and pigmeat to the USA; the remaining stages in the approval process outstanding; and the timeframe for all stages to be completed and full access granted. [2275/19]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 200 to 202, inclusive, together.

Access for beef and pigmeat to the US is already in place. Ireland was the first EU Member State to be granted beef market access to the USA in 2015. In July 2016, my Department received approval to send Beef Intended for Grinding (BIFG), also known as manufacturing beef to the US. A total of 10 Irish plants have been approved for the export of raw intact beef to the US, of which 2 are also approved for BIFG. Ireland does not have access for processed beef, which may also be called manufactured beef.

Ireland has enjoyed uninterrupted access to the US market for raw pork since 2001 and a total of 3 plants are approved for the export of raw pork to the USA.

Sheepmeat exports from the EU to the US are currently banned due to the presence of TSE in certain EU Member States. Sheepmeat access to the USA will depend in the first instance on the USA lifting its TSE ban on EU Sheepmeat. My Department submitted a sheepmeat questionnaire (SRT) in 2017 in preparation for the lifting of this ban and continues to raise this issue with US officials, both as part of the Trade Missions to the USA and with visiting US officials to Ireland. However, it is not possible to predict a timeline for sheepmeat market access to the USA.

The role of my Department is to open new markets and maintain existing markets for Irish food exports and overall targets are set out for agri-food exports in Foodwise 2025, in terms of an increase to €19 billion by 2025. My Department works very closely with the meat and dairy industry but once a market has been opened trade arrangements are left to individual companies and exporters and the actual trade volumes will vary depending on a range of factors such as currency fluctuations, global supply and demand, and local and international factors.

In 2018 Irish agri-food exports reached an estimated €13.6 billion. Within that, dairy exports exceeded €4 billion, an increase in volume of 5% on the 2017 levels and overall meat and livestock exports increased by 1% to an estimated €3.97 billion according to the Bord Bia Performance and Prospects 2018/2019 report which I launched last week.

In order to provide a country breakdown, as requested, it is necessary to use Central Statistics Office (CSO) trade statistics. The following table provides all the Beef, Pigmeat and Dairy exports for each of the years 2015, 2016, 2017 and the January – October period in 2018 to the USA, the latest period for which data is available from the CSO, in both value and volume terms. The USA was the second biggest destination for Irish food exports in 2017 after the UK and up to the end of October 2018, after the UK.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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203. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the review of existing export markets in which conditions of certification present barriers to trade or additional costs for exporters. [2276/19]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I launched an action plan on Market Access in April 2017. This plan aims to increase international market access for Irish food and drink exports and focuses on seven particular elements including barriers to trade. My Department actively works and engages with various competent authorities in third countries in order to try and remove various technical barriers to trade and to improve certification conditions.

In relation to meat, my Department has undertaken a review of existing export markets in which conditions of certification present barriers to trade or additional costs for exporters. This review was carried out in collaboration with the industry. The work involved in this review is by its nature on-going and is subject to on-going review, again in collaboration with industry.

Barriers to trade tend to arise in relation to meat products rather than dairy and an example of the work around removing barriers to trade and improving certification conditions relates to the agreed bilateral veterinary health certificates for beef. During the period, since the launch of the Action plan, enhanced beef access has been achieved for the export of Irish Beef to Israel, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and South Africa as follows:

- Israel - the main changes from the previous certificate are that the new certificate provides for the export of bone-in beef cuts derived from cattle of all ages as well as boneless beef cuts and offal from cattle of all age. The previous certificate restricted exports to boneless beef only.

- Saudi Arabia -the new certificate covers the export of beef and processed beef products including minced beef and cooked beef

- Singapore - the new certificate provides for the export of boneless beef derived from cattle of all ages as well as bone-in beef from cattle aged less than thirty months. The previous certificate restricted exports to boneless beef only derived from cattle aged less than thirty months.

- South Africa - the main change is that there is no longer a requirement that animals aged over 72 months be tested for BSE.

My Department has also launched an online Market Access portal which provides a one-stop-shop for detailed market access and export information on open agri-food markets around the world, .

The information on the portal includes certification arrangements, exporter terms and conditions, individual country trading statistics and the typical products exported to individual markets. This information is updated on an ongoing basis where there are changes in trading conditions or where new markets become open to export. The portal also contains specific email addresses per sector where further information may be requested. Feedback from Industry has been very positive in relation to the portal and it has proved to be an invaluable resource in assessing market conditions for exporters.