DEAR SIR: Now that the UK announced plans to trigger European Union withdrawal talks under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty on March 29, which will set in train a two-year negotiation, the Brexit process could add an extra 10c to the price of a loaf of bread in Ireland, the milling industry has warned. Flour is sent from the UK to Ireland to be refined into anything from bread and cakes to coating for chicken nuggets and battered fish.

Eighty per cent of the flour used here for baked goods and other products is coming from the UK, which could face inflation-busting tariffs if no deal is struck. The only mill here is located at Portarlington in Co Laois.

Half of the flour used by Irish bakers is milled in Ireland. A significant proportion comes from Belfast, the remainder from England.

If Irish producers switched suppliers to those operating within the EU to avoid trade barriers, then jobs would be in jeopardy in the UK, according to the National Association of British and Irish Millers. Furthermore, if tariffs are introduced at a rate the EU normally charges those at, this would add 8c to 10c to a loaf of bread in Ireland.

Maintaining tariff-free trade between the UK and Ireland is crucial during Brexit negotiations.