Farming organisations welcome Government decision to oppose Mercosur
Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) president Denis Drennan said: 'We have no way of ensuring that the beef that would be imported into the EU under the agreement would be of the same standards of traceability and environmentally sustainable production that the EU insists upon for its own farmers.' File photo
Farming organisations have welcomed the news that the Irish government plans to vote ‘no’ to the Mercosur trade deal.
Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) president Denis Drennan said that the Government’s decision that Ireland would vote against the Mercosur Agreement was the right decision on both economic and environmental grounds.
“The Government left it very late, but has come down on the right side of what is a head-to-head between fundamental principles of fairness and consistency and the kind of slippery expediency that seems to be the dominant approach in far too many situations now.
“ICMSA and Irish farmers in general have never been against fair trade; the point is that, as regards food and particularly beef, the agreement with Mercosur was not and could not be fair.
"We have no way of ensuring that the beef that would be imported into the EU under the agreement would be of the same standards of traceability and environmentally sustainable production that the EU insists upon for its own farmers.”
Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) president Francie Gorman also said the ‘no’ vote was the right decision.
“In our discussions with members of Government over the last 48 hours, we re-stated that opposition to the Mercosur deal was the only credible position the Government could adopt.
Also welcoming the ‘no’ vote was Meat Industry Ireland (MII). Director of MII, Dale Crammond, said: “We welcome the Government’s decision to honour its Programme for Government commitment by signalling its intention to reject this agreement. Even if the Member State vote goes against us, it will still need to be ratified by the EU Parliament.
"There is still time to ensure that all MEPs fully appreciate the likely impacts of this deal on the EU beef sector. They must reject this deal and force negotiators back to the table to agree on a better outcome for the Irish and EU beef sector. There is still time.”
In January 2025, MII had estimated a loss of approximately €1.3bn to the EU beef market and a corresponding hit of €100-€130m on the Irish beef market. Since then, the inflationary pressures on the beef market have put the economic loss considerably higher.
MII said that allowing the Mercosur countries to selectively target this market with predatory pricing will further undermine returns along the supply chain, and that there are no adequate safeguards in place to ensure a more balanced range of carcass cuts enters our market, calling it a fundamental flaw of the agreement.
