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Sterling volatility is not a new problem for Ireland, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told farmers and agribusinesses at Iverk Show in Co Kilkenny last Saturday.
“Sterling volatility is very difficult,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.
“It’s not something that’s new – we had sterling weakness eight years ago, long before anyone even imagined Brexit, so it’s not something we haven’t had to deal with before.
“And while there are a lot of businesses that are badly affected by sterling, there are others that benefit – importers, energy users, for example,” he added.
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Sterling slump
His comments came just days before sterling slumped to its lowest point in eight years, reaching a rate of 93p for €1 on Tuesday.
“It’s difficult to come up with a mechanism that transfers that benefit from those who are benefiting from a weak sterling to those who are losing out and that’s a tricky thing to do but it’s something we are very aware of.”
The Taoiseach added that the Government would bear in mind the effect of sterling volatility on different businesses in the run-up to the budget.
Measures
He said the Department of Agriculture and its agencies had introduced measures to mitigate the effect of sterling volatility in last year’s budget.
“That includes the €150m low-cost loan scheme, the introduction of new agri-taxation measures and increased funding under RDP.”
The Taoiseach pledged that the Government would press for “free and unfettered access to the British market, with no tariffs and no additional customs or administration procedures” in the Brexit negotiations.
However, he added that market diversification was essential.
“Britain is our nearest neighbour but it is by no means the only country in the world and we need to make sure that we get our products – our high-quality agriculture and food products – into other markets,” he said.
He promised more offices, more staff and more resources for Bord Bia to develop additional markets.
Bord Bia this week told the Irish Farmers Journal that those additional resources would be prioritised for Asia, the Middle East, North America and Africa.
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