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A no-deal Brexit presents the meat industry with an absolutely massive and damaging tariff wall, Meat Industry Ireland (MII) chair Philip Carroll has said.
The comments came during a sitting of the Dáil’s agriculture committee on Tuesday, where Carroll warned that tariffs will likely be more acute than previously predicted.
“Measures cannot be put in place, the meat industry cannot prepare for a no-deal Brexit. Over 70% of the beef market value will be consumed by tariffs. Any indication offered now on the effects this will have on the sector would be crystal ball gazing.
“We don’t have the tools to shift into other markets and divert from the UK. What we need is a mechanism which will maintain our current position in the UK. South America will get a competitive bounce from new UK tariffs and stand ready to take a slice of the market.”
Crisis point
Also speaking at Tuesday's sitting of the agriculture committee, IFA president Tim Cullinan highlighted that with a limited deal or no-deal Brexit, 38%, or €5.5bn worth, of Irish agri-food exports to the UK are at stake.
“The cost of import tariffs on food has been put by the Government at between €1.3bn and €1.5bn. Farmers’ livelihoods, which in some sectors have already been damaged by Brexit in the last four years, stand to take an unsustainable hit.
“The UK is the current destination for 38% of Ireland’s overall agri-food exports. Why hasn’t Bord Bia been looking for alternative markets this past four years, there’s no point looking for them this evening when were are at crisis point.”
Target diaspora
The Irish Natura And Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) suggested that the best interests of Irish farmers can only be served by targeting beef at the high-end British market.
Vincent Roddy of the INHFA said: “In targeting our suckler beef at this market we can deliver a much higher price that must be reflected back to our farmers.
“Potential of the Irish diaspora is another option to develop our market potential in Britain. With a significant Irish population residing, we have an advantage. We need to capitalise on this and appeal to these people through their Irish heritage.”
Eleventh hour
On the dairy front, Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) chair John O’Gorman warned that new tariffs will fall back on the primary producer.
“A no-deal Brexit will introduce tariffs of €1,670/t on cheddar. Take a company like Dairygold that exports 30,000t of cheddar each year, this will equate to €50m in tariffs.
“A soft Brexit is the best we can hope for and will bring a €200/t tariff on cheddar.”
Dairy Industry Ireland director Conor Mulvihill said talks are approaching the eleventh hour, calling on the committee to support the implementation of an immediate tariff rebate scheme in the case of a no-deal Brexit.
“This will help protect our route to the key UK market. Ireland also needs an immediate opening of an Export Credit Insurance scheme to help companies aggressively seek new markets.
“We currently are a complete outlier in the EU, with no state scheme despite Irish dairy exporting 95% of its product.”
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