Green Pages Feed Trade Topics from the Island of Ireland


MAJOR BREXIT CHALLENGES LIE AHEAD FOR THE FEED SECTOR IN NORTHERN IRELAND According to Robin Irvine, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association (NIGTA), local feed businesses will face major challenges in the absence of a trade deal between the EU and the UK by the end of the transition period on the December 31. He confirmed that with Northern Ireland still operating to EU rules


after the UK has exited Europe, import checks on many goods arriving from Great Britain will be inevitable. Depending on how the necessary controls are implemented, the


trade could face substantially increased costs to maintain compliance. For materials containing products of animal origin, such as milk powders, fishmeal or other animal-derived ingredients, there will also be a need for veterinary certificates — another cost burden. “Northern Ireland’s businesses need guidance to manage the


new thinking around the range of complex issues, which will affect the flow of feed materials,” Irvine commented. “The Northern Ireland Protocol indicates that we must operate by European rules, yet the UK Command paper is clear: Northern Ireland will be guided by the UK. In the absence of an EU office in Northern Ireland, what provision will there be for Northern Ireland business to avail of a technical reference point, to help them understand EU rules and enable them to manage trade challenges?” The NIGTA representative added that local feed compounders are


calling for a pragmatic approach to enforcement. “We need simplified systems to deal with duty rebates and regulatory checks,” he said. “Even then we will be looking at massively increased administration, IT and training costs. The industry will need help from the government if this cost is not to be reflected in increased feed prices, which will damage the competitiveness of the livestock sector. Tariffs of up to £60m could be payable on imported feed materials if they are deemed to be at risk of entering the EU, specifically the Republic of Ireland. These tariffs should be refundable at the point of consumption if it can be proved that they remain in Northern Ireland. “Given that the point of consumption is on Northern Ireland’s 25,000 livestock farms, this could be a massive administrative burden. “It could also represent a major financial burden if businesses


have to fund these tariffs and await a rebate recovery from HMRC. This has been estimated to take at least three months, allowing for account stock periods, invoicing of forward sales through to making a claim. The working capital burden for the sector would be in the region of £15 million at any given time.” According to Irvine, the Northern Ireland Protocol offers an


opportunity for the province to enjoy trade within both Europe and Great Britain with unfettered export access to both regions. However, it will be the practical application of the protocol that determines if truly unfettered access can be achieved, or if administrative and cost barriers prevent full rollout as the UK Government intended. He also pointed out that failure to reach an agreement on trade


PAGE 24 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 FEED COMPOUNDER


with the EU will create barriers to the movement of goods into Northern Ireland. As the UK diverges from European Union standards and tariffs, goods from Great Britain will be treated as imports from the EU when they enter Northern Ireland: customs clearance and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) compliance will apply when they arrive at ports in Northern Ireland. Irvine said that many of the materials currently imported, which


are subsequently manufactured into compound animal feeds, benefit from special trade arrangements, which allow favourable access. These include the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, the Ukrainian Association Agreement and other agreements with Tariff Relief Quota available through the European Union. The future of these arrangements remains to be clarified; as does the position of Northern Ireland in respect of trade deals and tariff schedules, which will be introduced by the UK. “We need clarity on the detailed implementation of the protocol and


are asking for the government to support the trade in four key areas,” the NIGTA spokesman concluded. “These are the implementation of a simplified system of duty rebates in the event of no-deal; allowing trade engagement with the Specialised Committee’s Expert Working Group on ‘at risk’ goods; ensuring access to the EU’s Quota for Ukraine/Russian goods and the provision of support to meet increased finance, IT and compliance costs.”


IRISH FARMERS’ ASSOCIATION CALLS FOR SUSTAINABLE GRAIN PRICES Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) President Tim Cullinan has called on all Irish grain merchants to pay sustainable prices this harvest. He recently visited grain farms in Leinster in order to view the


unfolding poor harvest first-hand. “The impact of a difficult winter followed by drought conditions in late spring has had a devastating effect, with instances of grain and straw yields dropping by as much as 70% on last season,” he said. “There are similar situations right up through the midlands and into the east and northeast, where growers, in some cases, have crops which are not worth harvesting.” The president called on Teagasc, Ireland’s agri-research and


advisory service, to carry out an immediate assessment of the ongoing harvest in these areas. According to the Teagasc National Farm Survey, tillage farm


incomes fell by 15% in 2019 compared to 2018. “Current grain prices being offered by the trade will leave farmers


suffering further major losses this season,” added the president. “These prices must rise significantly just to cover production costs. “The price of quality-assured Irish grain must not be undermined


by the price of third-country feedstuffs, which are not produced to the same environmental standards as Irish grain.” In addition, he reiterated his call for feed manufacturers and the malting sector to maximise their intake of Irish grain. IFA Grain Chairman Mark Browne called on the government to


support the tillage sector.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68