asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is aware of the serious situation which is developing for broiler producers by imports.
Ceisteanna - Questions. Oral Answers. - Broiler Imports.
5.
Under EC rules there is free trade in poultry meat between here and Northern Ireland. While I am concerned at the recent increase in imports, I am hopeful that the trade will revert to more normal levels in the near future. I think that has already happened. The replies to some of these questions were drafted months ago. They have been on the Order Paper for a long time and I imagine this reply was drafted when the difficulty was at its worst. In the longer term the only effective way to withstand competition from imports is through improved efficiency in production, processing and marketing.
When I tabled this question the situation was very serious. It has eased considerably. It is not of the same consequence now. Does the Minister agree that the private producers who are a well organised group are facing a serious problem because Northern Ireland and British suppliers move their unregulated surpluses down here? This is causing a fair amount of friction in the trade and doing a great deal of damage to the economy of that industry.
That would appear to be the case. When they have over-production of flour it lands down here. If they have a difficulty in disposing of what they produce, Ireland is an open market as are other countries in the EC. It is very difficult to prove that dumping is taking place. We have not attempted to formulate a case because this difficulty is not as apparent as it is with flour. It has caused serious problems. About 15 per cent of the poultry consumed here comes from Northern Ireland. That constitutes virtually all of our poultry imports. With regard to the difficulty producers in the Deputy's part of the country had, January was the worst possible month for them. In January we imported 251,000 chickens from Northern Ireland but in March the corresponding figure dropped to 196,000, so there was a steady decline. The March figure is more or less an average figure for recent years. In any case, the situation is not as bad as it was.
Would the Minister not agree that there should be some effort made at EC level to bring about a levelling off in feed prices as between here and Northern Ireland, since this is a factor in this whole matter?
There are a number of factors involved. It is not difficult to do something about the feed prices. Perhaps the Northern Ireland producers of feedstuffs are more efficient than our producers. About two months ago I had discussions with the junior Minister who is responsible for agriculture in Northern Ireland and I made him aware of our concern regarding these imports. I pointed out that they were causing us considerable difficulty but there are factors apart from the question of feedstuffs. Energy and other overhead costs are not as high in Northern Ireland as they are here.
Wages there are not as high, either.
There is a difficulty for us, too, in that in Northern Ireland the insurance stamp seems to be subsidised. I am especially keen that that discrepancy is removed. I have told the junior Minister so that we will be following up the matter in the future.