NI to target Britain with beef
26 May 1999
NI to target Britain with beef
By Vicky Houchin
NORTHERN Ireland exporters are to target Britain with extra beef following the re-imposition of a worldwide ban on meat from the province.
The ban, which was announced yesterday (Tuesday), prevents the export of Northern Irish beef to anywhere in the world apart from the rest of the United Kingdom.
The Linden Group, formerly Granville Meats, which was exporting to mainland Europe, will now be predominantly targeting the British market, said a spokesman.
Beef farmers in Northern Ireland were confused and angry over the new beef ban, introduced less than a year after the original export ban was lifted last June, he said.
Linden had been exporting just 10-15 tonnes of beef a week but was about to embark on a major contract to supply the Dutch supermarket giant, Albert Heijn.
The company will now fulfil that contract using meat from cattle from the Irish Republic which is unaffected by the Ulster ban.
The Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) in Milton Keynes played down the impact that additional beef imports from Ulster would have on the British market.
Beef already comes in from Northern Ireland and it wont make a huge difference, said MLC Economist Duncan Sinclair.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) said a huge influx of imports into the Britain would be unlikely because the regular trade from Northern Ireland is small.