The UK, on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive, has formally lodged an “opposition” to the Irish grass-fed beef Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) application.

This was done as part of the three-month consultation process launched by the European Commission in December, which is due to close on 8 March.

It means a continued delay in securing a PGI.

This course of action was in fact suggested by the Commission in May last year when it described the opposition process as being a “non-conflictual, amicable procedure” and was welcomed at the time by Minister McConalogue as a “positive development.”

The minister also said at the time that the Commission indicated that it “would be available to participate in any appropriate dialogue to assist the process.”

Given what the Commission said last May, it appears that the PGI application, originally submitted in November 2020, will be stalled while discussions take place.

This is likely to be effectively a reapplication for a PGI that includes both jurisdictions on the island of Ireland.

This had been the position taken by the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU), Northern Ireland Meat Exporters Association (NIMEA) and Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) in November 2020.

In a joint statement at the time, the UFU president Victor Chestnutt spoke of being “very disappointed that the Department of Agriculture and Bord Bia continued to draft the submission without our involvement”.

If the EU accepts this opposition and a revised application including Northern Ireland is made, a further three-month consultation would be held.

This means the best-case scenario is that a PGI for grass-fed beef will be in place sometime in the second half of 2022.