The threat of Brexit eased somewhat for beef farmers back on December 24 as a late merchandise deal was agreed. This meant that our beefiness exports to the Great britain, which are our largest net importers of Irish gaelic beef, will avoid heavy tariffs imposed past the Globe Tariff Organization (WTO) rules.

Nonetheless, this does not mean that the Irish beef sector will not be impacted from the loss of our British neighbours from the EU.

On this week's Teagasc Beefiness Edge podcast, Dr. Kevin Hanrahan, who is head of the rural economic system and development program at Teagasc, revealed that a level of doubtfulness will even so remain for the beef sector until the 2nd half of 2021.

Speaking on the podcast, Kevin stated: "There are going to exist changes that meat processors are going to accept to bargain with in terms of custom checks, veterinary certs and export declarations as they ship beef products into the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland.

A primal issue is how the Great britain volition implement regulations on the importing of beef products. This may impact actually important trade flows for products such every bit minced beef and minced beef products into Great United kingdom.

"The UK may adopt an EU style of approach – which insists these type of beef products have to be frozen if they are non musculus.

"This volition be an issue for the manufacture equally at that place is very expert human relationship with providing the food service manufacture such as McDonalds and Burger Male monarch that could exist disrupted."

pexels-jens-mahnke-beef burger people sourced

'Facing a cliff edge'

Kevin went on to speak about how the sector will be facing some other cliff edge this yr as the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland announces its custom regulations. Although, it will non be as major every bit what could have occurred if a no-trade bargain was in place on Jan one. He explained:

"The United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland has stated that it volition be ready to impose all of its customs checks and regulations from July of this twelvemonth. The European union is already imposing its checks at ports and Ireland is likewise doing checks at Rosslare and Dublin ports.

At the moment the feared chaos is not happening nonetheless because it is early in the year and a lot of loads are non leaving the factories because they know that they haven't got all of the documentation figured out yet.

"If the UK implement its customs checks that it says it is going to exercise by the middle of the yr, there will be boosted documents to get into the UK. To what extent of that goes seamlessly, which I suspect it won't, volition be a challenge for the sector."

Exports to the U.k. fix to refuse

Commenting on the high per centum of beefiness exports currently travelling to the UK market from Ireland, Kevin stated how he expects these levels to decline over time. He reiterated the need to source new markets for Irish beef exports.

"We need to outset sourcing markets both inside the EU and exterior the Eu that we tin can ship beef products to, which is assisting both at a farm level and a meat processing level."

Kevin was as well posed a question near the UK marketplace being flooded with cheap beef imports from other countries. He stated:

"One thing that the pro-Brexit Great britain politicians have been boasting about when leaving the European union is its [the UK] ability to exercise merchandise deals with other countries. Information technology has ambitions to practise merchandise deals with large agronomical exporters such as Canada, New Zealand, Commonwealth of australia and the US.

In these trade deals, these countries volition be looking for admission for its [the UK] agricultural exports and food products which the Uk may have to agree to.

"Irish beef exporters will discover themselves competing with these countries and downwards the road there may be beefiness supplies from Mercosur countries also.

"This volition be a disadvantage for Irish beef exports and ultimately Irish beef exporters," Kevin concluded.