Ireland to expand meat exports but spurns cloning

Under its strategy for growth, set out in last year's Food Harvest 2020 vision, the idea is to promote Ireland's green credentials, in which cloning is not seen as being compatible at least for the foreseeable future, reported Brennan at a conference targeted at the UK foodservice sector held in London last month.

He said Ireland would use more publicly acceptable approaches to improve its operational efficiency, such as the 'sustainable Irish beef' initiative. This involves the participation of the Carbon Trust, and seeks to quantify the sector's low environmental impact.

"The carbon footprint of Irish beef is the lowest in the EU,"​ claimed Brennan. He said it would be important to get this and other green messages across to consumers in the UK and elsewhere.

As Ireland moves ahead with plans to raise its total agri-sector exports from euro 7.9bn last year to euro 12bn by 2020, Britain is set to remain its biggest export market. Of the 540,000t of beef produced each year, around 85% goes for export, said Brennan: around half (260,000t in 2010) of this was to the UK.

Good export prospects​

Brennan said there were good prospects for increasing exports, given the UK deficit in beef and falling EU production. But he noted: "Environmental awareness is an issue for consumers but below price."

At the conference last month, Beatrice Blake, manager for Bord Bia London, said that producers of dairy, beef and pigmeat would seek to raise their exports. Key targets were to increase the value of primary output in agriculture, fisheries and forestry by euro 1.5bn and increase value-added output in the same sectors by euro 3bn, she said.

The combined value of Irish meat and livestock exports grew by around 9% to almost euro 2.44bn in 2010, with the main growth drivers being in beef, live animals and pigmeat.

The value of beef exports increased by 8% (by over euro 110M) to euro 1.51bn as increased export volumes and stable prices helped trade. Exports of pigmeat rose by 10% to euro 317M. Dairy exports increased by 17% to almost euro 2.29bn.