Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 January 2021
352. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if research or analysis will be made available carried out by his Department or a body working with or on behalf of his Department on the impact of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada on the Irish agri-food sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4942/21]
View answerNegotiations on the EU Canada Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement (CETA) concluded on 26th September 2014, and the agreement entered into force provisionally on 21st September 2017.
In 2013, my Department, in conjunction with Teagasc, carried out a detailed analysis of the proposed agreement. The agreement includes a tariff rate quota (TRQ) of 50,000 tonnes of Canadian beef access to the EU market, but our analysis concluded that this was unlikely to pose a significant threat to our beef sector. Canada was unlikely to be able to fill this TRQ in the short- to medium-term, given the high transport costs, together with the significant financial investment required to move to a hormone-free production system. At present, the Asian market appears to provide comparable prices to the EU market and has lower costs for Canadian exporters.
Our analysis also concluded that the agreement contained good opportunities for our wider agri-food industry. This has been borne out by the fact that the TRQ of 18,500 tonnes for EU cheese and industrial cheese has helped to drive our dairy exports to Canada. These exports have grown from €9.9 million in 2013 to €14.7 million in 2019. The agreement also included immediate 100% tariff-free market access for EU beef to Canada. This was timely as, in 2015, Ireland had gained access to the Canadian market for Irish beef.
Our geographical indications, Irish Whiskey and Irish Cream Liqueur, are now also protected. This is important as Canada is a major destination for our beverages sector's exports. In 2019, Canada accounted for €20.6 million of Irish Whiskey exports (our sixth-largest export market) and €44.4m of Irish Cream exports (our second-largest export market).
It is a priority for both my Department and for Bord Bia to continue to support our industry in taking advantage of the opportunities provided by CETA.
