An agreement has been reached with Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health allowing the importation into Qatar of Irish beef, sheepmeat and poultry, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed announced on Monday.

Minister Creed said that: “The opening of this new market is a reflection of the confidence the Qatari authorities have in the rigorous controls and high standards of food safety we have in Ireland.”

The market is being opened to boneless beef, sheepmeat and poultry – both meat and meat products.

The Minister added that: “The opening of the Qatari market is the result of ongoing efforts by my Department, the Irish Ambassador accredited to Qatar and the agricultural attaché in the Gulf Region in recent times.”

Minister Creed reiterated his commitment to ensuring that Irish meat exporters would have access to as many global markets as possible, in line with the market development themes of Food Wise 2025 and that his Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Bord Bia would continue to work closely in achieving this goal.

According to market research,the Qatari meat market is expected to become a million tonne market by 2020. Due to lower domestic production levels, meat imports are increasingly significant. Sheepmeat is particularly popular, at around 35% of total meat consumption.

Irish agri food exports to Qatar amounted to €8.8 million in 2017, of which around 70% was dairy products.

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