Changes to Rules of Origin needed to protect all-island food and drinks industry
Industry figures have called for the reform of the EU rules of origin, so the all-island food and drinks sector can be protected under the Northern Ireland protocol. File Picture.
Mr Mulvihill said the all-island dairy industry was worth €15bn with €6.5bn in exports that underpinned jobs across every parish on the island of Ireland.
“Milk is a fungible product, ie a litre of milk comes down from Northern Ireland (NI) to be processed in the Republic of Ireland (ROI), it is then mixed and made into butter, cheese, infant formula, and Irish Cream Liqueur where whiskey and dairy meet,” he added.
“There are 1bn liters of milk coming from NI to ROI and that in turn goes into products with about 4bn litres of equivalent milk which will lose its originating status.
“The Protocol protects that on the island of Ireland, in Great Britain, and in the EU but does not protect the export of those products to where the EU has existing free trade agreements (FTAs).
“Irish dairy is a ‘rest of world product’ so those FTAs are absolutely integral to the continued support and success of dairy farmers north and south.
“This is an anomaly we feel that the EU can - with political will - fix.”
Dr Johnston, meanwhile, indicated the support that was there for the Protocol but highlighted how there were elements of it that needed to be “fixed”.
“From a Northern Ireland dairy perspective there are a number of points to be made including that there is no segregation of milk - we don’t have the facilities either in NI or in the ROI to do this,” he continued.
“If we were forced into doing that it would require a lot of time and investment.
“In NI we do not have sufficient processing capacity to manufacture all the milk that is produced here.
“One-third of the milk produced in NI is transported to ROI for manufacturing into a range of products many of which are then sold on into third country export markets.”
Dr Johnston went on to say that it was happening for 20 years now and was being facilitated by the Good Friday Agreement and the drive to improve efficiency in manufacturing and to add value.
“We have been able to do this because we have been operating to the EU Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards,” he said.
“We continued under the Protocol to have free movement of milk and dairy products on the island of Ireland; and we have an important working relationship with the Departments of Agriculture both north and south.
“We need the political will to ensure that the mixed origin product that is manufactured in ROI is designated as an EU product.
“If we can get to that stage then it becomes the job of the civil servants within the EU Commission to work with the industry throughout Ireland.”
