According to Minister Coveney: “Feedback from exporters eligible to export beef to the US indicates that exports to date had reached approximately 330t by early September.” He was replying to a parliamentary question by Fianna Fáil’s agriculture spokesman Éamon Ó Cuív TD this week.

The volume exported is much higher than the 30t reported earlier by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) for the first half of this year.

The Department of Agriculture estimates beef exports to the US to be worth €2.1m to date. “This is a very encouraging start to this trade, particularly given that the trade to date is confined to the market for intact cuts as we currently await approval to export beef intended for grinding,” Minister Coveney commented after travelling to the US to promote Irish beef and dairy products two weeks ago.

Kepak was the latest Irish beef processor to obtain an export licence from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) this month, with its Longford factory receiving the green light shortly after Kilbeggan. This brings to six the number of Irish processing plants on the USDA’s list of eligible plants certified to export meat to the US.

“My understanding is that this momentum in exports will continue and grow right through to the end of 2015,” Minister Coveney said. However, he appeared to backtrack on his comment made in late August that Ireland would obtain approval to export manufacturing beef to the US “in the next two months”.

“It would appear that the USDA will not make any decision on this issue until the audit currently being carried out on US-approved plants in Ireland by the Food Safety Inspection Service has been completed and the report finalised,” Minister Coveney warned without specifying a time frame.