The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) will hold a rally next week against the impending Mercosur trade deal.
The association announced the protest will take place at 11am on Tuesday 5 November at the gates of Leinster House to highlight the severe threat the deal poses to Irish agriculture and rural communities.
ICSA president Seán McNamara said the deal will devastate Irish agriculture by allowing cheap, untraceable beef from South America to flood the European market.
“Rather than supporting high-quality Irish and European beef, this deal is a blatant attempt to turn our beef into a low-cost, lowest common denominator commodity and will reduce us to competing at unsustainable world market prices, currently standing at €3.50/kg,” he said.
“We cannot allow our beef farmers to be sacrificed in this way.”
Mercosur
The Mercosur deal, organised between the European Union and the South American common market, will see beef from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay imported into the European market.
McNamara added that the agreement will see Irish farmers face “deliberately stacked odds” that will make it unsustainable to compete.
“Beef farmers already struggle to make ends meet - how can they be expected to compete against foreign producers who can undercut them at every turn? We are outraged that Irish beef farmers could be put in this position.”
He added that the protest will also look to protect the future of rural Ireland.
“The viability of producing high-quality, sustainable beef in Ireland will be crushed, leading to a further decline in the national suckler herd and sheep flock and the closure of countless small farms and rural businesses dependent on agriculture.
“This knock-on effect will be felt across every rural household and community.”
Compensation
The European Commission has been in talks to create a fund that would compensate sectors hurt by an EU-Mercosur trade deal.
However, McNamara said this would solve nothing: “Past experience has shown that compensation packages are rarely worth the paper they are written on for primary producers. We don’t want compensation; we want fair market access.”
ICSA beef chair John Cleary added that time is running out to send their message.
“The reality is that Mercosur could be finalised at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 18-19 November, while Ireland may be operating under a dissolved government and in the midst of a general election.
“It is imperative that every candidate in the upcoming election knows where Irish farmers stand on this.”
Read more
EU remains focused on Mercosur deal - Wojciechowski
Cattle price surge in Brazil means extra beef export costs
Argentine beef exports to hit record levels
Brazil’s cattle herd to grow by 28m head in next decade
Mercosur trade deal looks inevitable
The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) will hold a rally next week against the impending Mercosur trade deal.
The association announced the protest will take place at 11am on Tuesday 5 November at the gates of Leinster House to highlight the severe threat the deal poses to Irish agriculture and rural communities.
ICSA president Seán McNamara said the deal will devastate Irish agriculture by allowing cheap, untraceable beef from South America to flood the European market.
“Rather than supporting high-quality Irish and European beef, this deal is a blatant attempt to turn our beef into a low-cost, lowest common denominator commodity and will reduce us to competing at unsustainable world market prices, currently standing at €3.50/kg,” he said.
“We cannot allow our beef farmers to be sacrificed in this way.”
Mercosur
The Mercosur deal, organised between the European Union and the South American common market, will see beef from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay imported into the European market.
McNamara added that the agreement will see Irish farmers face “deliberately stacked odds” that will make it unsustainable to compete.
“Beef farmers already struggle to make ends meet - how can they be expected to compete against foreign producers who can undercut them at every turn? We are outraged that Irish beef farmers could be put in this position.”
He added that the protest will also look to protect the future of rural Ireland.
“The viability of producing high-quality, sustainable beef in Ireland will be crushed, leading to a further decline in the national suckler herd and sheep flock and the closure of countless small farms and rural businesses dependent on agriculture.
“This knock-on effect will be felt across every rural household and community.”
Compensation
The European Commission has been in talks to create a fund that would compensate sectors hurt by an EU-Mercosur trade deal.
However, McNamara said this would solve nothing: “Past experience has shown that compensation packages are rarely worth the paper they are written on for primary producers. We don’t want compensation; we want fair market access.”
ICSA beef chair John Cleary added that time is running out to send their message.
“The reality is that Mercosur could be finalised at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 18-19 November, while Ireland may be operating under a dissolved government and in the midst of a general election.
“It is imperative that every candidate in the upcoming election knows where Irish farmers stand on this.”
Read more
EU remains focused on Mercosur deal - Wojciechowski
Cattle price surge in Brazil means extra beef export costs
Argentine beef exports to hit record levels
Brazil’s cattle herd to grow by 28m head in next decade
Mercosur trade deal looks inevitable
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