Farmers bear brunt of Brexit cost

New figures from Bord Bia show that €570m was wiped off the value of Irish food and drink exports last year by the sharp drop in sterling.

Farmers suffered the brunt of Brexit turmoil in 2016, losing €150m as sterling fluctuations slashed beef prices. IFA president Joe Healy said it was mainly Irish farmers who had borne the pain of sterling weakness through lower prices, particularly for beef and mushrooms.

Cattle prices fell by €100/head following the UK’s Brexit vote, with a knock-on effect on store and weanling producers, according to the IFA. Bord Bia figures show beef prices fell by 6% across all cattle slaughtered for export last year.

Healy said the figures highlighted the inability of processors and exporters to secure price increases from retailers as a result of falling sterling. He claimed this underlined the excessive control of retailers and their power to dictate lower prices back to processors and farmers, instead of paying higher prices to compensate for sterling weakness.

Political decision

The IFA president emphasised that farmers were taking these losses as a direct result of the Brexit referendum, which was a political decision totally outside their control.

Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed said the search for markets for Irish agri-food exports had taken on a new urgency in light of Brexit. He added that the industry had faced major challenges such as the pork dioxin crisis, BSE and food-and-mouth in the past and would face down Brexit too.

Listen to "Creed on markets in 2017" on Spreaker.

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