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Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots has refuted comments made by Dairy Council chief executive Dr Mike Johnson that the NI protocol has strong support from the agri-food sector.
Answering questions at Stormont on Monday, the DAERA minister said that Johnson had failed to point out that the beneficial impact identified for the dairy industry did not apply to the beef, chicken or pork sector.
If Dale Farm has achieved something on the back of the protocol, I congratulate it
“For example, Foyle Food Group and other companies in NI import tens of millions of pounds of beef from GB for further processing here that then goes back to GB. That is impacted on as a consequence of the protocol,” he claimed.
It was put to Minister Poots by south Down MLA Sinéad Bradley that the Dale Farm contract to supply Arla with whey protein would not have been possible without the NI protocol.
“If Dale Farm has achieved something on the back of the protocol, I congratulate it, and I commiserate with the many thousands of businesses that are damaged as a consequence of the protocol,” he responded.
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