IFA softens strong opposition to decoupling.
He said Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh cannot rely upon the FAPRI conclusions in the forthcoming CAP negotiations in Brussels.
Mr Deane said it is absurd for FAPRI to conclude that the price level for beef could be higher in the EU following a WTO deal which is set to cut import tariffs by 36%.
However, the FAPRI findings have sparked major discussion within IFA on all the CAP reform options, and the Association is softening its original strong opposition to decoupling.
This follows recent reports that EU farm ministers might opt for partial decoupling, which one IFA source described as being the worst of all worlds.
The debate on the impact of the CAP reform proposals and WTO changes is reaching a climax, now that speculation is rife in Brussels that a deal on CAP reform could be concluded by the end of June.
The debate here in Ireland has been given added spice by the second FAPRI report.
Published last week, it predicted that the majority of Ireland’s dairy and beef farmers would do better if the EU proposals were implemented.
