Agriculture Minister Michael Creed talks to top UK chains over beef exports

Agriculture Minister Michael Creed has held direct talks with Britain’s largest supermarket chains in a bid to “cement” Ireland’s position in their stores amid concerns Irish products could be replaced by cheaper non-EU beef after Brexit.

Mr Creed said Tesco and Sainsbury’s alone take more than €2bn in Irish agri-food products every year — roughly 20% of our entire exports market for the sector.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner amid ongoing concerns about the unintended impact of Brexit on this country, Mr Creed said the reality was Ireland was in a battle to keep its British market position secure once our nearest neighbour splits from the EU.