The presidents of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) and Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) have issued a joint call for clarity on Brexit.
The IFA’s Joe Healy and UFU’s Ivor Ferguson were speaking in Co Fermanagh in advance of a European Council meeting on 10 April.
At that meeting, a further extension of the UK’s departure date from the EU will be debated.
Extension
Having pushed the original departure date back from 29 March to 12 April, a further extension to 30 June 2019 has been requested by UK Prime Minister Theresa May.
With the UK parliament appearing no closer to agreeing a deal, the possibility of a crash-out Brexit has increased.
The IFA and UFU were meeting to discuss the impact the UK leaving without a deal.
The UK’s farm lobby group the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and its Welsh and Scottish branches also attended the meeting.
Ferguson and Healy said the groups had been calling for clarity for months and that it was crucial politicians prioritised the welfare and the long-term prosperity of the agri-food sector.
Uncertainty
“It is unbelievable that farmers and growers in Ireland, the UK and in the rest of Europe are still operating without any certainty on a future trading relationship.
"This is having real-world business consequences right now, as well as causing unnecessary stress and huge anxiety for farmers who simply don’t know what trading conditions they will be operating under in the future,” they said.
Both agreed that a no-deal Brexit would be economically disastrous, but emphasised that any extension must be used constructively and not merely to delay a no-deal scenario.
Free and frictionless trade, alignment on high standards of production and a determination to co-operate for the best possible future for their members was a common call made by all the groups.
Read more
May seeks 30 June Brexit extension – again
'Additional resources' but no details on border checks from EU
The presidents of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) and Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) have issued a joint call for clarity on Brexit.
The IFA’s Joe Healy and UFU’s Ivor Ferguson were speaking in Co Fermanagh in advance of a European Council meeting on 10 April.
At that meeting, a further extension of the UK’s departure date from the EU will be debated.
Extension
Having pushed the original departure date back from 29 March to 12 April, a further extension to 30 June 2019 has been requested by UK Prime Minister Theresa May.
With the UK parliament appearing no closer to agreeing a deal, the possibility of a crash-out Brexit has increased.
The IFA and UFU were meeting to discuss the impact the UK leaving without a deal.
The UK’s farm lobby group the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and its Welsh and Scottish branches also attended the meeting.
Ferguson and Healy said the groups had been calling for clarity for months and that it was crucial politicians prioritised the welfare and the long-term prosperity of the agri-food sector.
Uncertainty
“It is unbelievable that farmers and growers in Ireland, the UK and in the rest of Europe are still operating without any certainty on a future trading relationship.
"This is having real-world business consequences right now, as well as causing unnecessary stress and huge anxiety for farmers who simply don’t know what trading conditions they will be operating under in the future,” they said.
Both agreed that a no-deal Brexit would be economically disastrous, but emphasised that any extension must be used constructively and not merely to delay a no-deal scenario.
Free and frictionless trade, alignment on high standards of production and a determination to co-operate for the best possible future for their members was a common call made by all the groups.
Read more
May seeks 30 June Brexit extension – again
'Additional resources' but no details on border checks from EU
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