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Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) president Edmond Phelan has said that there should be some temporary stability and upward movement around beef price, as speculation surrounding Brexit ends momentarily.
He has said that this time should be used to sort out CAP funding and a UK-EU trade deal.
“Factories will have nowhere to hide in 2020 in citing instability, which was repeatedly used as a reason for low beef prices over the last three years.
Key objective
"There will be less reason for cold storage facilities to be packed out; sterling is likely to be more stable in the short term and separate from all of this is the fact that beef price in North and South America is likely to remain strong in 2020,” he said.
“Continued tariff-free access to the UK for Irish exports such as beef remains the key objective,” he said, adding that the UK’s deadline of December 2020 sets a “highly challenging target which will be difficult to meet”.
“Obviously, the roles of Michel Barnier and Phil Hogan will be central and it is welcome that both individuals are keenly aware of the vital interests at stake here.”
He has called on the new government to ensure that the interests of Irish beef farming are at the forefront of negotiations.
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