Building a second dairy in the Republic is the "least favoured option" for Strathroy Dairy, but it must be considered in case of a hard Brexit, the Omagh, Co Tyrone company's owner Cormac Cunningham told RTÉ's Countrywide show on Saturday.
"It is part of our contingency plan. It would be the last of things we feel we can do, it is the last thing we would like to do, but we have to have that final option to support both our farmers and our retailers," Cunningham said.
"That would be our least favoured option, simply because we have a very efficient dairy in the North. Trying to split that business into two and basically replicate what we have here 10 or 15 miles across the border would make very, very little commercial sense. But it is an option we have to look at in case there is no other way around."
'Huge' tariffs
Strathroy would need a processing plant south of the border if a no-deal Brexit resulted in standard WTO "huge" tariffs and administrative checks.
Cunningham said that over 130 of its 200 milk suppliers are in Co Wexford and the wider southeast, while processed products are also delivered to retailers in the Republic, resulting in 110 lorry crossings daily.
"If there was any significant paperwork involved in that or any significant tariff being collected, it would have huge implications for our business," he said.
However, he is confident that a deal will be worked out before the UK crashes out of the EU on 29 March, or that arrangements can be found within WTO rules to minimise disruption to trade in the absence of a formal relationship.
We will find a way
"I don't want people to get too anxious and think that it's going to be a complete disaster, because I think agriculture and business in general on this island is too important and among ourselves, we will find a way," Cunningham said.
Yet he admitted that Brexit had been a "nightmare" since the UK referendum in 2016: "I don't think at the time the vote was taken, they realised the consequences for people like us."
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Building a second dairy in the Republic is the "least favoured option" for Strathroy Dairy, but it must be considered in case of a hard Brexit, the Omagh, Co Tyrone company's owner Cormac Cunningham told RTÉ's Countrywide show on Saturday.
"It is part of our contingency plan. It would be the last of things we feel we can do, it is the last thing we would like to do, but we have to have that final option to support both our farmers and our retailers," Cunningham said.
"That would be our least favoured option, simply because we have a very efficient dairy in the North. Trying to split that business into two and basically replicate what we have here 10 or 15 miles across the border would make very, very little commercial sense. But it is an option we have to look at in case there is no other way around."
'Huge' tariffs
Strathroy would need a processing plant south of the border if a no-deal Brexit resulted in standard WTO "huge" tariffs and administrative checks.
Cunningham said that over 130 of its 200 milk suppliers are in Co Wexford and the wider southeast, while processed products are also delivered to retailers in the Republic, resulting in 110 lorry crossings daily.
"If there was any significant paperwork involved in that or any significant tariff being collected, it would have huge implications for our business," he said.
However, he is confident that a deal will be worked out before the UK crashes out of the EU on 29 March, or that arrangements can be found within WTO rules to minimise disruption to trade in the absence of a formal relationship.
We will find a way
"I don't want people to get too anxious and think that it's going to be a complete disaster, because I think agriculture and business in general on this island is too important and among ourselves, we will find a way," Cunningham said.
Yet he admitted that Brexit had been a "nightmare" since the UK referendum in 2016: "I don't think at the time the vote was taken, they realised the consequences for people like us."
Read more
The Big Dealer: official Ireland well warned about Brexit
‘Revenue is not planning for customs posts’
Beef and dairy bosses demand Brexit action from Creed
Farmers question cuts to milk price
SHARING OPTIONS