Consumers in the UK do not differentiate between British and Irish beef when making purchasing decisions in supermarkets, according to Kevin White from UK retail magazine The Grocer.

“Irish beef is very much established as the same as British beef in the UK,” the magazine’s fresh food editor said on RTE Countrywide on Saturday.

White was speaking about Irish food exports to the UK following media reports this week that exports could be affected by a British sourcing policy announced by UK retailer the Co-operative.

He pointed that the Co-op did not source Irish meat anyway and said that UK consumers are generally happy to buy Irish produce.

“The farming groups might have some opinion on that but in terms of consumers they care more about the quality and price of the meat rather than whether it comes from Ireland, Northern Ireland or Great Britain,” he said.

No change

White also said that he did not envisage current UK supply chains relationships with Irish meat processors changing to imports of beef from countries such as Brazil after Brexit.

“I can’t see that changing with standards being very similar between the UK and Ireland,” he said.

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