O'Neill Meets Tesco In NI Beef Industry Talks

Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill has met a senior official from Tesco to discuss issues affecting the beef industry in Northern Ireland.

The meeting with Tom Hind, Agriculture Director at Tesco, took place at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) Beef Conference in Belfast.

Minister O’Neill said: "Tesco clearly has a commitment to agriculture in the north and to building on its relationships here. It was a constructive and encouraging meeting and I would like to thank Mr Hind for his time. I would also like to make it clear that I am keen to maintain dialogue on the issues discussed and to work together with retailers to promote the interests of our industry.

"I raised the key issues of improving communication within the supply chain and local sourcing as these are not only areas of concern for the sector, but also areas of mutual interest for both industry and retailers."

The Minister also said research will pay a "vital role" in helping to sustain the beef sector.

She said: "Whilst there are significant financial pressures for 2015/16 and beyond, my Department has issued a call for new research within the DARD-directed AFBI work programme and is working closely with AFBI to help shape next year’s research programme.

"AFBI research and development, funded by DARD and co-funded by AgriSearch, has led to the development of innovations which inform management decisions which, in turn, improves efficiency. Projects include suckler cow nutrition, the health of suckled calves and the development of beef and sheep systems for improved sustainability, biodiversity and delivery of ecosystem services. The Bovine Information System (BovIS), through providing real time carcass benchmarking information for beef producers, represents a key step forward for the industry."

(IT/CD)