The £70 million beef trade with Italy had been placed in jeopardy by the recent beef factory blockade, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh, said last night in Verona.
At the beginning of his international initiative to minimise the impact of the 14-day strike, the Minister said he had chosen to come to Italy first because the market was a key one for Irish exporters and had doubled in volume since 1996.
He said sales of Irish beef were up by 13 per cent on last year and now stood at 30,000 tonnes. The export of live cattle to Italy was worth £20 million.
The Minister, who will visit France and the Netherlands next week, had a series of meetings with importers last night, stressing the stability of the Irish market and the fact that a permanent deal had been worked out between processors and farmers.
The importance of the initiative has been underlined by the presence of the Irish Ambassador to Italy, Mr Joseph Small, and senior officials from the Department of Agriculture and Food.
The team, which also includes Mr Michael Duffy, chief executive of An Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, will today hold meetings with importers of beef and live cattle.
Mr Jim O'Toole, Bord Bia's representative in Milan, said some of the importers in northern Italy had to source product from elsewhere during the dispute.
Mr O'Toole said at least one of the importers had been monitoring the dispute on the Irish Times website, and its impact was being felt on the markets.
More than 3,500 meat factory workers will receive lump sums as compensation for lost earnings during the farmers' blockade of processing plants. The sums will be based on the difference between average earnings and social welfare payments to the workers.