A spokesperson for a UK government agency has acknowledged ongoing concerns about the availability of certain animal health products in NI from next year.

Vicky Nicholls from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) made the comments during an online tutorial for veterinary medicine retailers in NI.

“The VMD are aware of concerns around the future availability of medicine pack sizes. This is one aspect of supply that we have been, and continue to, monitor very closely,” she said.

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The issue stems from NI needing to follow EU regulations on veterinary medicines as part of post Brexit trade arrangements.

“From the 1 January, wholesalers and retailers based in NI must source veterinary medicines from within NI or the EU. They can no longer source products directly from Great Britain,” Nicholls explained.

The concern is that certain pack sizes, and possibly all variants of some products, will be withdrawn from the NI market when a temporary grace period expires at the end of 2025.

However, Nicholls maintained that current indications from animal health firms suggest there will not be changes “at a systemic level”.

“We therefore ask you to inform us should you encounter a significant increase in costs and encourage you to talk directly to your suppliers about their future supply plans,” she said.

Meanwhile, a junior minister in the UK government has suggested veterinary medicine supplies in NI from next year “should not be a problem”.

Speaking to MPs on Tuesday, Baroness Hayman of Ullcock pointed to two schemes which have been developed to allow veterinary products to be imported into NI if there are shortages.

“If there are any sticky moments, or glitches, or unexpected consequences, we need to know about them as early as possible so we can act to ensure people continue to get the medication that they need,” she said.