Beef farmers ‘must see dividend’

MII’s Cormac Healy said they would continue to press for access for the remaining plants. In addition, they also wanted to widen the agreement to include meat on the bone, plus the valuable offal.

IFA president Joe Healy said it presents the beef sector with an opportunity to build on the progress the Irish dairy and pig meat sectors have made with overall agri-exports rising to close to €1bn last year.

He said it was very important that eligibility is secured for all Irish beef products and not just frozen boneless beef and that all export beef plants are cleared. However, he said it must deliver for all farmers.

ICMSA president Pat McCormack said an enormous amount of work had gone into the breakthrough, but it must “benefit the people producing the actual food”.

“New markets without better margins for the producers were ultimately of little benefit,” he said.

ICSA beef chairman Edmund Graham has said that farmers will have to see a dividend from the opening of the Chinese market before it can be judged a success.

“There can be no doubt that the opening of the market should allow for better prices because meat factories will have options. They will therefore be in a stronger position to negotiate with EU supermarkets, and this opportunity must be used to drive a better price for farmers.”