This article is from page 67 of the 2007-10-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 67 JPG
THERE was great news for Clare beef farmers last Wednesday with the announcement by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mary Coughlan, that Saudi Arabia was to open its doors once again to Irish beef.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia im- posed a temporary ban on Irish beef in 2000 following concerns over the spread of Bovine Spongiform En- cephalopathy (BSE).
The market is now to be reopened under the conditions recommended by Saudi experts who visited Ireland in June of this year.
This move is a significant victory for Coughan who has been courting Saudi officials for months in an ef- fort to reopen negotiations, and even paid an official state visit to the king- dom earlier this year.
Following on from the visit by Coughaln and An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, the Department of Agricul- ture in co-operation with An Bord Bia and the Department of Foreign Affairs had been working intensely to have the temporary ban removed.
Speaking after the announcement, the minister said this positive news was the result of intensive efforts at political, diplomatic and technical level especially since the beginning
of this year. “This is a very welcome decision as Saudi was traditionally an important market for Irish beef.”
“The decision by the competent authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reopen their market to Irish beef was taken following an on-the- spot examination of the rigorous controls applied and reflects the high standards of food safety controls in place in Ireland.”
The minister said that she expected trade to resume as soon as the indi- vidual slaughter plants designated to supply the market are approved by the Saudi authorities.
Meanwhile, IFA President, Padraig Walshe said last week that EU Health
and Consumer Affairs Commission- er Markos Kyprianou has no choice but to impose a ban on Brazilian beef, as further procrastination on the issue was leaving the European Union exposed to unnecessary risk.
“Commissioner Kyprianou admit- ted that if the situation with Brazil does not improve the EU will take the necessary action including the implementation of a ban on beef 1m- ports by the end of this year.””.
Walshe said an assessment of the risks with Brazilian beef imports un- dertaken by the veterinary expert Dr Kevin Dodd has concluded that the EU Commission’s risk assessment 1s both ‘flawed and inadequate’.