Ireland has to try to protect its market share for agri-food in the UK, even if the EU and UK don’t reach a trade deal, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Coveney told an Irish Farmers Journal webinar this week.

Acknowledging that this would come at a cost, he said that “the Government will, with the farm organisations and stakeholders, decide how we spend money in a way that supports our agri-food sector and farm incomes”.

The minister was also of the view that there will be a trade deal at some point, if not now.

He said: “We have to find ways of maintaining Irish market share on supermarket shelves in the UK.”