EU-NZ trade deal to make 'an already bad situation worse' for Irish sheep farmers

Following the completion of the ratification process in both the EU and New Zealand, the deal enters into force.

The free trade agreement was signed in recent days, and under its terms, an additional 38,000 tonnes of duty-free sheepmeat will be permitted to flow into the EU annually on top of the current 114,000 tonnes permitted.

The EU and New Zealand free trade agreement will "make an already bad situation worse" for Irish sheep farmers.

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association sheep chairman Sean McNamara has said that the decision to allow an additional 38,000 tonnes of sheepmeat into the EU from New Zealand is "yet another blow to sheep farmers at a time when prices are falling rapidly".