Mr. Tom?s Bourke:

The Chairman is right. As we set out, significant questions are being raised by farmers, rightly so, as to the role and purpose of the large volumes of both live sheep that are imported for processing from Northern Ireland and the carcase lamb that is imported here for further processing.

There is a concern about the up-to-date transparency on the volumes and frequency but when we look at it historically, they are pretty solid volumes. When one combines live lamb and carcass lamb as it currently stands, it probably counts for about 20% of our production in this country, of 75,000 tonnes, which is significant. An argument is being put forward by processors that it is to do with efficiencies and maintaining a processing plant. We have raised concerns and have made a submission to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission about the Dawn Meats venture in Kildare and the potential impact that would have in taking out a large, stand-alone sheep processing factory.

One area that we feel the Food Vision group needs to focus on early is having an independent assessment of what role that plays as it currently stands. The Chair has hit the nail on the head with regard to the real concern for the sheep market trade. It is not really about the UK or Northern Irish production. If we look at the overall balance of supply and demand from an EU perspective, demand is slightly above supply figures within the EU, which one would imagine to be an optimum position for sheep production. What undermines the trade is no different than what we see with the South American beef or New Zealand lamb that comes into the EU. While the UK and Northern Irish production is all effectively within the same market, per se, albeit going through some of our processors, the big concern and issue is the volume of New Zealand lamb that is allowed to come in without tariff.

The UK is now going to accept additional volumes, both from New Zealand and even more so from Australia, which has the capacity to significantly increase the volumes it puts into that EU market. That will have a displacement effect from our perspective because obviously we export to the UK but primarily into the EU market. There are concerns that there will be displacement of UK produce into those key markets for our lamb. That is where the real worry is, also where the impact of Brexit effectively is, from the sheep sector's point of view. This bilateral trade deal that is now being done increases the volumes of New Zealand and Australian lamb that can come into the UK market. The existing tariff-free quota for New Zealand lamb coming into the EU was split 50:50 between the UK and the EU. That is being further added to by this additional bilateral trade deal. That effectively gives access to the EU market, which is our market for sheep meat. That is a huge concern for the sector in the medium and long term.

It is important that we get some price transparency. As a major exporting country, we are resting in third place, behind France and Spain, but significantly above the UK, Northern Ireland, New Zealand and Australia, which are all potential competitors to us. When they are below us, they effectively undermine our capacity to get a sustainable price from the marketplace.