As revealed in the Irish Farmers Journal last week, two NI factories, the Foyle site in Campsie and WD Meats in Coleraine, have received approval to export beef to the US.

While it is definitely a good news story for the local beef industry, some of the commentary since then has painted an unrealistic picture of the opportunities that exist for NI in the US market.

Republic of Ireland factories have had a foot in the US door for five years, and while volumes were up in the early part of this year (due to rising US beef prices), overall it has been a pretty slow burn. Across the first six months of 2020, the Irish have exported around 4,500t of beef, out of a total of 5,160t going to the US from across the EU.

Despite the EU ban on hormone-treated beef (a practice widely used on US farms), more beef has actually come to the EU from the US in 2020, than the other way around. And with a beef price that is traditionally well behind prices here, we should be more worried about the threat posed by US beef in a post-Brexit world, than the opportunities in that market.

But at the same time having US Department of Agriculture (USDA) approval is a badge of honour for local factories that can help create openings elsewhere, especially in Asian markets.

With margins slim in beef processing, the key to profitability is having lots of options available so that product can be diverted to whatever market pays best.

For farmers in NI, it is the market in Britain that matters most, offering one of the highest prices in the world for beef, and only 75 to 80% self-sufficient.

It is a market that, going forward, will increasingly expect beef farmers to contribute towards lower carbon emissions.

As highlighted on p64 the National Beef Association have recently made an important contribution to that debate. It is one we must not ignore.

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