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After a 15 years ban due to BSE, Irish beef is finally heading back to the United States, the world's largest and most valuable beef market. The announcement was made early this morning by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney and follows almost two years of intensive diplomatic efforts.
Ireland is the first European Union (EU) country to secure access to the United States, which should help gain a foothold in niche categories. American beef is a highly regarded product in its domestic market, but there is a growing market for "natural" grass fed, hormone free beef, particularly in the restaurant trade. Research work undertaken by Bord Bia suggests that the catering trade on the east and west coasts will be the first market sector targeted. Sales efforts will be boosted by the fact that US beef prices are at a record high, due to the American beef herd being at a 60 year low. Drought in recent years in States such as Texas has had a devastating effort on US beef production. Growth hormones are also a routine part of US beef production, offering Irish beef a point of difference. Marketing efforts will also be helped by the current euro dollar exchange rate, which at under $1.20 lowers the price point in dollar terms.
Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said: “this US market is a huge prize given the size of the market and the demand we know exists there for premium grass-fed beef. We now have first-mover advantage as a result of being the first EU member state to gain entry. There is also the large Irish-American community which will be a key target of our promotional efforts for Irish beef now. My Department and Bord Bia have been planning for this announcement for some time now and will announce a number of initiatives in the coming weeks including a dedicated website aimed at American consumers and buyers highlighting the quality of Irish beef. This announcement marks a fantastic start to 2015 for the Irish beef sector”.
Expressing his delight at the news, the Minister said that the market opening was the "culmination of two years of intensive work between my Department and our US counterparts to prove our credentials as a supplier of highest quality premium beef." He thanked his US counterpart Secretary of State Tom Vilsack for his efforts. Vilsack visited Ireland last June as part of the diplomatic process.
Beef from the EU has been banned from the US since it imposed its ban for BSE reasons over fifteen years ago - this ban was only formally lifted in March 2014.
The United States is not expected to be a high volume market for Irish beef, but its opening to Irish beef should boost the chances of gaining access to other international markets, given the challenges of overcoming the United States Department of Agriculture' (USDA) approval process.
Minister Coveney commented “this announcement by the US is a huge endorsement of Irish beef and our production and regulatory systems. It complements the other market access outlets we have secured in the last two years all of which are a key element of our Food Harvest 2020 strategy to expand the overseas opportunity for Irish beef. It’s clear that diversifying our international beef markets as an exporting country is key to the long-term sustainability of our beef sector”.
This US decision clears the way for the Irish authorities to approve individual beef plants here to export to the US, approval for which will be based on agreed criteria with their US counterparts. The Department has been working with interested Irish plants to assess their readiness and suitability for export for some time and this work will intensify now in order that the trade can formally commence as soon as possible.
Meat Industry Ireland, the representative group for the country's beef processors welcomed the announcement but said that there is still work to be done before Irish beef will be on sale in America.
"From a business perspective, we believe that the US market will ultimately be a high value / low volume niche market, principally for Irish grass-fed steak cuts... The next steps are to agree a veterinary certificate, clarify outstanding details and progress the approval of additional plants beyond those initially approved. MII will be meeting with DAFM this week to advance these issues."
Niall Browne, CEO of Dawn Meats said: “The opening of the US is clearly a positive for the beef sector in Ireland being such a major beef market, and the Minister and his officials deserve credit for securing Ireland’s position as the first European beef exporter allowed access back into the US. We believe there is a considerable opportunity for Dawn Meats and Irish beef based on our customer visits and meetings in the US over the last two years. We will be focussing on the premium end of the market where grass-fed beef is increasing in popularity.”
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