Ireland has temporarily suspended beef exports to China following the confirmation of an atypical case of BSE.

The Department of Agriculture notified the Chinese authorities of the BSE case in recent days in line with agreed protocol and this automatically triggered a temporary suspension of trade.

The Department will prepare an epidemiology report in the coming days to be assessed by the Chinese authorities. It comes after a suspected case of BSE being investigated by the Department in a 14-year-old dead cow earlier this month was confirmed by laboratory tests. The animal died on farm and was sent to a knackery in Co Tipperary. In the first quarter of 2020, over 3,000t of beef was shipped to the Chinese market.

A spokesperson for Meat Industry Ireland told the Irish Farmers Journal: “This is a very disappointing development but one which we hope will only be a temporary setback. We understand that the Department of Agriculture will get all of the necessary information back to the Chinese ?authorities without delay and engage with them at the highest level to restore the trade”.

Beef prices

Meanwhile, beef prices here have steadied after a number of weeks of rises. Industry sources say retail sales of beef are up 20% and in-spec cattle suitable for retail markets are in short supply. Prices quoted are €3.60 for steers and €3.65 for heifers excluding bonuses.

In Scotland and the rest of the UK factories are struggling to get cattle. Prices continue to rise, with £3.60/kg (€4.04/kg ex VAT) being quoted for R4L steers this week which represents a €0.33/kg rise in the last three weeks. Base quotes at NI plants are unchanged on 342p/kg (€3.84 ex VAT), but farmers report that 350p/kg (€3.93/kg) is widely available.