There was welcome news this week for reopening of Egypt to exports of live Irish cattle. “This is a significant boost to the live export trade in Ireland,” said Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney, confirming the development. “Opening new third country markets for Irish cattle is a priority, as it represents an important alternative outlet.”

There will be certification conditions. As well as being disease-free, animals for shipping must be resident for at least 21 days on the last holding prior to export and no older than 24 months at the start of this residency. They must weigh at least 300kg at the start of residency.

IFA livestock chairman Henry Burns said the news provides a boost in terms of price competition and additional market outlets. “It is important a major effort is put into getting the trade flowing quickly,” he said.

ICMSA’s livestock chairman Michael Guinan said that the news was welcome, particularly as fears grew over the surge in numbers expected at the back end of the year.

Exporters contacted by the Irish Farmers Journal were cautious. Current cattle prices in Egypt and Ireland would not allow for a profitable trade at the moment, they warned.

They warned that the terms of the certification were a significant hurdle, which would ramp up costs for cattle being exported live.

“Ireland is an island with none of the transit movement of live cattle that takes place on the continent, and this means that disease risk is generally lower here,” one pointed out. “Yet the restrictions on all live exports imposed by the Department of Agriculture are the tightest in the EU,” he claimed.