A new health certificate is being drawn up by veterinary authorities in Ireland and Egypt for the export of Irish beef and lamb meat to that market.

This follows the opening of the Egyptian market last week to Irish beef, beef offals and certain sheepmeat products. “The Department is currently finalising the certificate with the Egyptian authorities,” the Department of Agriculture told the Irish Farmers Journal this week.

Meat companies are hoping that the planned health certificate is more favourable than the last certificate that was agreed between Ireland and Egypt in 2011. It has age limits of 48 months for boneless and 30 months for bone-in beef, ruling out cow beef.

Factories already have to deal with a number of different age limits set by different non-EU markets. For example, an age limit of 72 months (six years) is set by South Africa and Tunisia, while Indonesia and Algeria have set age limits of 30 months. Exporters – and the Department itself – would like to see all market certificates mirror the arrangements the Department negotiated with the New Zealand authorities.

That trade is covered by an EU-wide certificate drawn up under OIE rules and which has no age limit.

Opportunites

Meanwhile, processors welcome the reopening of Egypt to Irish beef and sheepmeat products and will wait to see what export opportunities might arise.

They point out that while Egypt imports large volumes of beef, it is a buyer of lowest-cost product, including large of volumes of buffalo meat from India. The first export opportunities could be for beef offal and cow beef.

The five plants approved for export to Egypt – following inspection last year by the Egyptian veterinary authorities – are Liffey Meats’ three plants in Balyjamesduff, Ballinasloe and Hacketstown; Kildare Chilling and Dunleavy Meats in Co Mayo.

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