Irish beef will be on sale on in America in 2014. On a two-day visit to Ireland last week, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack confirmed that Irish beef will be on sale before the end of the year.

“That’s not a possibility, that’s a reality,” Secretary Vilsack said on Stephen Morrison’s farm in Kill, Kildare. “I fully anticipate and expect that trade will resume shorty,” he added.

Speaking alongside Secretary Vilsack, Irish Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney confirmed that the beef will be marketed for sale in restaurants on the east coast of America, where grass-fed beef is sold as a premium product.

“We see the marketing opportunity of Irish beef in the US not as huge volume but particularly on the east coast there is a market called green beef, this grass-fed, high-quality beef.

‘‘We see this going into restaurants there. There are very strong Irish connections there from New York to Boston. We do see that as an interesting market with a lot of opportunities,” Minister Coveney said.

There are differing reports on the volume of beef we are likely to send to the US market.

While no official figure has been stated, there are those in the sector who suggest that as little as 1,200t would be exported into the market while sources in the Department of Agriculture disputed that figure, saying it would be “multiples” of that.

Vilsack said that Irish beef will “benefit” the US retail and restaurant market.

“There are more than enough customers for this beef. Our herd is at the smallest it’s been since 1952 so there is a need for other markets,” he said.