The live cattles trade between Libya and Ireland is set to resume after a 16 year break. The international livestock trading and shipping company Al Mahmoud has teamed up with Irish exporter Waterford Livestock Export Ltd to make this happen.

The recently refurbished Al Mahmoud Express is due in Waterford port, Ireland in two weeks to get its final approval and to be loaded with a consignment of 2,900 young bulls.

Over the past 10 days, directors of the Al Mahmoud Company have visited Irish farms along with Waterford Livestock Export Ltd directors Dermot Tobin and John Fleury identifying and sourcing the bulls for this first trial shipment.

�The Department of Agriculture have made substantial progress on re-opening the live trade to Libya, Egypt and the Lebanon, with veterinary certificates now in place for all three markets for the first time since 1995,� Mr Bryan said.

The ICSA has also welcomed the progress that has been made on re-opening the Libyan market for live exports.

�Developing more markets for Irish beef must always be a priority, so progress on opening the Libyan market is very welcome � especially given the increased input costs farmers are facing and the fact that Irish meat processors and are paying a lot less than their British counterparts,� said Edmond Phelan, the ICSA beef committee chairman.

Although it is unclear how many cattle will be taken from Ireland this year, at its height in the mid-1990s, the live trade to the Middle East was worth over �130m and 260,000 cattle were shipped. Egypt took around 175,000hd in 1995, with Libya importing more than 80,000hd.