The European Commission is preparing to increase its beef offer in trade talks with Mercosur on Friday. No change was made to last year’s offer of 70,000t additional South American beef imports at a ministerial meeting on Tuesday, but a spokesperson for the European Commission told the Irish Farmers Journal: “For the negotiations to move on, both sides should make an effort to meet each other’s expectations, while recognising each other’s sensitivities. The EU signalled its disposition to this effort.”

The European farming organisation COPA-COGECA warned the offer would be raised to 99,000t, just shy of Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan’s commitment to reject any six-figure quota. Its beef chair Jean-Pierre Fleury described this as “unacceptable”. Monitoring the talks in Brussels, IFA livestock chair Angus Woods said: “Ireland, using all diplomatic and political channels, and Commissioner Hogan needs to say bluntly: this has to stop.”