August 7th 2014

ICSA president Patrick Kent has warned that the Russian ban on EU imports should not distract from the Irish beef crisis.

“Obviously the loss of any market is a concern for producers, but exports of Irish beef to Russia have been of very little significance in recent years, amounting to less than 0.2% of total beef exports in 2013” said Mr. Kent. “While there have been hopes of expanding this market, the current ban must not distract from the difficulties faced by Irish beef farmers in markets closer to home.”