Following discussions between grain farmers and Greenore Port Authority, a protest against barley imported from outside the EU has been stood down.

“The port authorities agreed to forward our opposition to low-quality, untraceable grain imported from outside the EU to the importer of the load we witnessed in Greenore Port today (Friday 10 October)," said John Murphy, a Wexford grain farmer who is the vice-chair of the IFA’s grain committee.

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Earlier today, members of the IFA grain committee assembled in Greenore Port in Louth to protest at the importation of a boatload of the barley.

A text message shared among IFA members, from the IFA's Ulster/North Leinster chair Frank Brady, said the protesters were highlighting the financial pressure Irish tillage farmers are under.

The grain on board the ship has been described as “minimum standard feed barley of non-EU origin”. It’s understood the barley is of 14% moisture, is of 9.5% protein, 63kph and with 8% screenings. That would place it at the lower end of the quality spectrum.

“Tirlán alone have said they have taken in 47,000 tonnes of barley with no home,” said one farmer present. “There’s plenty of Irish barley available at present that’s of excellent quality, higher than the imported grain being observed, and would be priced no higher. This is simply undermining the market at a crucial time."

The farmers want to highlight the difference between grain imports, particularly imports from outside the EU, and domestic grain.

“Grain is treated as a generic commodity, with no regard to origin, provenance or the quality of the production standards,” said one farmer. “We want the same protection for our product that meat and milk have. Irish grain is produced to the highest quality, sustainability and traceability standards in the world, but is being asked to compete with import product that has none of these standards. As a result, grain farmers are going broke.”