Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney hosted a showcase event in Chicago on Tuesday night promoting Irish beef following its re-entry to the US market earlier this year. As part of the event, a number of international chefs provided demonstrations on Irish beef dishes. It was attended by a large number of key US food buyers and food writers.

Minister Coveney said the aim of the event was to increase the profile of Irish beef as a quality premium product and continue to build the Irish beef brand in the US.

“Last night’s launch was the perfect way to market Irish beef as we targeted premium buyers, distributors and opinion formers,” said the minister.

Coveney added that while Ireland has only been granted clearance to export intact cuts of beef to the US at present, the Department of Agriculture was working closely with the USDA to “resolve the outstanding technical difficulties with the export of manufacturing beef”.

While the figures are widely disputed by the industry, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said that Ireland exported just 31 tonnes of beef to the US for the first half of 2015. Minister Coveney hopes that this figures will grow to 20,000 tonnes by the end of 2016.

The Department also announced that a fifth Irish meat processing plant, Kepak Kilbeggan, had been given approval by US authorities to slaughter and process beef for export to the US. Kepak Kilbeggan joins ABP Clones, Dawn Charleville, Slaney Foods and Foyle in Donegal as having been granted permission to export beef to the US.

McDonald’s global management

In addition to the beef launch held in Chicago, Minister Coveney also met members of McDonald’s global management at the fast food giant’s global headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois. The minister described the meeting as an opportunity to further build on the strong partnership between McDonald’s and the Irish agri-food sector.

McDonald’s is the single largest purchaser of Irish beef by volume, accounting for approximately 40,000 tonnes annually. Two years ago, the company signed a five-year, €300m deal with Dawn Meats to process up to 18,000 tonnes annually.

While in Chicago, the minister also promoted a range of Irish farmhouse cheeses listed in a premium Chicago supermarket chain. The minister’s trade mission to the US continues on Wednesday, when he is scheduled to announce a number of significant launches for Irish dairy companies with operations in the Chicago area.