Irish Minister for Agriculture, Marine and Food Simon Coveney will lead a high-profile trade delegation to promote agricultural products on Oct. 29-31 at the invitation of the Saudi government.

“We are very positive about the prospects for the forthcoming visit. It will not only help strengthen diplomatic ties but will also open up further opportunities to increase bilateral trade which touches $1 billion annually,” Irish Ambassador Niall Holohan told Arab News on Thursday.

The envoy said that Coveney will lead more than 40 representatives of Irish agricultural firms and will hold talks with his counterpart, the Saudi Minister of Agriculture Dr. Fahd bin Abdulrahman bin Sulaiman bin Balghunaim, who had extended the invitation.

The Irish envoy said that the two agriculture ministers would discuss bilateral issues of mutual interest, such as measures that would increase trade between Ireland and Saudi Arabia.

“We are the fourth largest beef exporter in the world but there are still restrictions on Irish beef imports into the Kingdom. About 20 years ago, we were the major exporter of beef to Saudi Arabia but this was curtailed due to disease issues in Europe — even though Ireland was affected to a limited scale only,” he said.

He stressed, however, that “the Irish cattle herd is now almost entirely disease-free and Irish beef is once more being exported to premium markets throughout the world.”

“We can currently bring high-quality Irish beef into the Kingdom but on a limited scale only. I am happy to say that Irish meat is now available in several of the best hotels in the key cities of the Kingdom like Riyadh and Jeddah,” the Irish envoy said.

He indicated that the current restrictions concern the age of cattle at the time of slaughter: “At present”, he said, “such cattle must be aged only 30 months or less and this of course makes Irish exports less competitive.”

“The request to remove these restrictions will be part of the positive discussions which will take place between Ministers Coveney and Balghunaim,” he said. The envoy added that the ministers would also be discussing how best to expand agricultural cooperation in several other areas of mutual interest to both countries.

The delegation is expected to call on officials of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry and have one-on-one meetings with Saudi counterparts.

Coveney was appointed as Irish Minister for Agriculture, Marine and Food on March 9, 2011.