IFA president Tim Cullinan has called on the EU Commission to address what he describes as serious contradictions and lack of policy co-ordination under the Green deal, CAP and several trade policies.

“Commissioner Wojciechowski admitted to MEPs that of all the sectors considered in the Cumulative Impact Assessment on EU free trade agreements, the beef sector stands out as the most affected,” Cullinan said.

The study, conducted by the EU’s Joint Research Centre, looks at the impact of 12 EU free trade agreements with partner countries. It estimates the beef sector to reduce production by 0.5% (tonnes) by 2030.

Policy dysfunction

The IFA president said the Mercosur trade deal cannot progress along with the existing access granted to beef not produced to Irish standards.

Cullinan continued: “Under the Green Deal, the EU is driving up costs and wants organic production standards at conventional prices. At the same time under trade deals, the Commission is importing beef that fails to meet EU standards.”

IFA national livestock chair Brendan Golden said the Commission cannot defend current agreements when projections suggest beef imports into the EU may increase by up to 100,000t and in the process reduce Irish beef prices by 2.2%.

Golden said: “This clearly highlights the dysfunction of the EU beef market caused by the double standards of policy makers who continue to ignore how beef is produced in these countries, while increasing demands on Irish beef farmers.”

Impact assessment

Cullinan has also called on the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to follow up on commitments given at the recent IFA AGM.

McConalogue and Taoiseach Micheál Martin both agreed to conduct an economic impact assessment of the EU Farm to Fork and biodiversity strategies.

“The debate around Farm to Fork proposals is happening in a vacuum. The EU has yet to produce an impact assessment of the strategy,” Cullinan said.

“The Commission is singularly focused on environmental sustainability, with little or no regard for economic or social sustainability. The only impact assessment of the proposals so far has been conducted by the US Department of Agriculture.”