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A shipment of cattle which was due to sail for Algeria on Friday has been postponed, a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture (DAFM) has told the Irish Farmers Journal.
The Irish Farmers Journal revealed earlier on Monday that the shipment was at risk by outstanding operational issues between the Department of Agriculture and the exporters.
It is understood the main issue concerned when the cattle to be exported must be treated for internal and external parasites.
The Department met with the exporter on Saturday, at which time the processes and protocols necessary to enable the export proceed were agreed, the spokesperson said.
“The exporter reverted on Monday morning indicating that the export would not proceed on this coming Friday, as it was not possible for him to have sufficient quantity of compliant animals for export assembled by then.
“DAFM will work with all exporters in the expectation that shipments of livestock to Algeria will take place in the future,” the spokesperson said.
Exports
The Department has been working hard in developing the livestock trade with Algeria. These efforts included a trade visit to the country in February 2020, the spokesperson continued.
“Minister Creed has been a strong supporter of live exports throughout his tenure as minister, which has seen live exports double during his time in office.
"Live export trade opportunities now exist with several third countries including Libya, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco, Russia and Kazakhstan.
“Having acquired access to these markets, the Department works to ensure that all exports have veterinary certification in accordance with each importing country’s specific market requirements.
“Since the beginning of this year, 9,763 animals were successfully exported to third country markets,” he said.
IFA president Tim Cullinan has called on Minister Creed to intervene personally and immediately to resolve the issues that caused the cancellation.
“It’s unbelievable that we have a boat docked in Waterford ready to bring 1,200 Irish cattle to Algeria, and it’s now likely to leave empty and instead go to France to collect cattle,” he said.
“The Minister needs to intervene immediately to get this sorted,” he said.
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