Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
2078. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason that the State is happy to import feed stuffs from Russia while placing sanctions on Russian oil; the reason that both products are being treated differently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40209/22]
View answerThe fifth package of EU sanctions that came into effect on 9th April 2022 and the trade provisions as set out in Council Regulation (EU) 2022/576, amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014, included a ban on Russian-flagged vessels accessing EU ports from 16 April 2022.
The EU sanctions package prohibiting Russian-flagged vessels accessing EU ports included provisions to allow for the import of agricultural and food products.
The EU is committed to avoiding all measures which might lead to food insecurity and consequently, none of these trade measures target the trade in agricultural and food products, including wheat and fertilisers.
My Department regularly engages with feed industry representatives. Feed import companies have been actively engaged in sourcing alternative feed materials from existing and new sources, and regular commercial activities in this regard are ongoing.
In addition, I continue to encourage farmers to devote more land for arable use through the Tillage Incentive and Protein/Cereal Schemes which will bring significant benefits to reduce our future reliance on imported commodities albeit recognising that Ireland has a major deficit in grain production.
