Farmers set to lose €400m unless beef given sensitive product status

IRISH beef farmers could lose as much as €400 million a year if beef is not given sensitive product status by the EU under any future World Trade Organisation agreements.

A new Teagasc study on the impact of WTO on Irish agriculture by Teagasc economist Kevin Hanrahan said while some agricultural sectors would not be significantly affected by a World Trade Organisation agreement, it would have significant negative consequences for agricultural income in Ireland.

The drop in farm incomes would be caused mainly by the decrease in beef prices and production that would occur as a result of increased imports of beef into the EU.