The Mercosur deal will eliminate duties on 100% of industrial goods over 10 years.

Dairymaster CEO Edmund Harty said: “It’s not a big market for us at the moment but we have some parlours and Moomonitors over there. It might develop, but, like all trade you have to build up a track record first, a dealer network, and then work on normal business issues such as currency and shipping costs etc.”

Dave Pearson of Pearson International said: “We have got some enquiries from that part of the world over the last year but we will be taking a ‘wait and see’ approach.”

Simon Cross of Cross Engineering in Co Kildare said the opportunities for Irish machinery manufacturers would be “mainly in the upper end of the market for the more unique machines, such as our pineapple harvester or beet washer. Labour is very cheap in South America so I don’t think that the more basic products that we manufacture such as slurry tankers will be viable”.

Sam Shine of Samco in Co Limerick sees potential for his maize equipment due to more relaxed tariffs. “We have already started negotiations with Brazil and Argentina and tariffs are high but with the introduction of the Mercosur deal tariffs will be more in our favour.”