At Thursday night’s IFA beef meeting in Castlerea, county Roscommon, IFA president Eddie Downey said Tesco have committed to giving an answer by the end of week (today) on whether they will carry beef with an Irish label in UK plants.

Director of Livestock Kevin Kinsella said some secondary retailers are already using the label, shown for the first time in the meeting, with good results. He said Tesco have committed that “if the label meets traceability and quality assurance and both ministers (Minister Simon Coveney and Minister Michelle O’Neill, Northern Ireland) want it to happen they (Tesco) will look at making it happen”.

Eddie Downey added that Tesco have started promoting Irish beef again stating that pressure from farm organisations in the UK had prevented the retailer from promoting sales of Irish beef in the first half of the year. Over 250 farmers attended the second beef challenges meeting.