Issues affecting farmers on both sides of the Irish border were highlighted as common priorities in Brexit negotiations for the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) in Campsie, Co Derry, on Monday night.

IFA president Joe Healy and UFU deputy president Ivor Ferguson spoke at a UFU group meeting and on many issues, including cross-border trade, Ferguson was the more optimistic of the two speakers.

“I would have great hopes that we will retain access to the single market so that we can have tariff-free trade with the Republic of Ireland and the rest of EU,” he said.

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The concern for the UFU is that disruption for trade through checks or form-filling at the border will add cost. “Even if this is done electronically, there will be a cost and who usually ends up paying for that? Farmers,” Ferguson said.

Free trade between the UK and EU would also address the main concern raised by Healy of continuing Irish agri-food exports to Britain, which were worth €4.13bn last year. Preventing a reduction to the CAP budget due to the loss of the £3bn net contribution from the UK was the other main priority for the IFA raised at the meeting.

Positive

Losing UK government officials at the negotiating table in Brussels was a positive pointed out by Healy due to the UK historically having an anti-CAP stance, but he added that the strong relationship between the IFA and the UK farm lobby in Europe would be a loss.

“We would have had a debate among ourselves first, then we would sing off the one hymn sheet. There is concern that we are losing a big ally,” he said.

Ferguson said that an opportunity for NI farmers was to supply the British market given that the UK is only around 60% self-sufficient in food. However, both speakers acknowledged that a threat for NI and ROI farmers is liberal trade deals and a cheap food policy in the UK post-Brexit allowing food imports from countries with lower production costs.

“If other countries get a foothold in the UK market, it only takes a few years for their standards to increase,” Healy said.

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