If there is a no-deal Brexit, any beef exports from the UK to the EU-27 will have to be accompanied by a health certificate confirming that the beef comes from herds that had a clear TB test within the previous three months.

The requirement is included in a draft health certificate seen by the Irish Farmers Journal. It would have the effect of making commercial beef exports impractical, whatever tariff arrangement was in place.

Quota

The Farmers Journal has also learned that the tens of thousands of carcases taken from the Republic of Ireland to NI for deboning would not count as part of the tariff rate quota on beef that the UK has said it will temporarily create if there is a no-deal Brexit.

It was expected that these carcases would move across the border tariff free, but that they would have been noted and deducted from the overall UK tariff free quota. This quota is approximately 124,000t annually for fresh beef and 57,000t for frozen beef.

What this means is that there will be even less pressure on the tariff-free quota, leaving more potential for Brazilian beef imports to the UK, as opposed to Irish, in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

This is potentially bad news for farmers across the island of Ireland and Britain. It means that the UK market could be devalued for both Irish exports and indigenous UK production by the availability of Brazilian beef.

The opportunity for produce to transit from the Republic of Ireland through NI into Britain, first revealed in the Irish Farmers Journal three weeks ago, is also now the understanding of many in the local food industry.

On enquiry a spokesperson for HMRC confirmed the situation: “Provided traders choose routes from Ireland to Britain via NI for commercial reasons, not connected with an avoidance purpose, tariffs will not be due and tariff rate quotas will not apply.”

Therefore beef, poultry, cheese, pig meat or mushrooms from regions just south of the border could easily justify using one of the NI ports as a way of accessing the market in Britain.