November 6th 1999

Welcome as Russian vets lift ban on six counties

By Paul Mooney

THE decision of the Russian veterinary authorities to remove their ban on beef from six counties was welcomed by Minister for Agriculture Joe Walsh as a boost to the sector.

It demonstrates that the approach adopted here to counter BSE is the correct one and it gives further confidence to customers, he said.

Ireland's situation with regard to beef has improved greatly over the past year, he said. There has been significant headway in regaining market share on the continent while the run down of Intervention stocks leaves the way open for further improvement in international markets, he said.

Minister Walsh said the visiting veterinary delegation expressed satisfaction with the Department's handling of BSE, saw an underlying improvement in the BSE situation and were greatly reassured about the safety of Irish beef. The delegation lifted the ban on beef from counties Tipperary, Cork, Donegal, Limerick and Clare. The ban on Cavan, Meath and Monaghan remains, mainly because these counties have had younger BSE cases, indicating contaminated animal feeds were sold and fed to cattle there after use had stopped elsewhere.

The ban on these counties will be reviewed at a later date, Minister Walsh said.

IFA's Raymond O'Malley welcomed the development, stating it would give a significant injection of confidence to the sector. The Irish Meat Association's John Smith said it would make sourcing beef for Russia easier. Russia will be back in the market for Irish beef next year, he said.

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