Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 May 2017
223. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department or Bord Bia has completed an analysis on the effects of agri-trade here since the Brexit vote in June 2016; and if so, the documents and publication dates concerned. [22570/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department and its agencies have conducted various analyses of the likely impact of Brexit on the agri-food sector, ranging from initial and ongoing internal departmental assessments to published work by Teagasc and Bord Bia.
In the lead-up to last year's referendum my Department conducted a number of internal assessments across a range of sectors in order to establish the nature and scale of the trade with the UK and the likely implications of an exit vote. This will be an ongoing process and since the UK decision to leave the EU, includes extensive consultation with stakeholders via the Department's Stakeholder Consultative Committee and the All-Island Civic Dialogue process, in respect of which I have hosted four agri-food and fisheries sectoral dialogues.
In terms of published works, Teagasc published a study on 14 April 2016 under the title "Brexit - Potential Implications for the Irish Agri-Food Sector". The study examined four scenarios under which Irish agri-food exports to the UK declined by differing amounts, with exports diverted to other markets at varying discounts, and found that the value of exports could fall by between 1.4% and 8%.
In January of this year, Bord Bia launched its “Export Performance and Prospects 2016-2017” report, which analysed the performance of the food and drink sector during 2016 and its prospects for 2017. According to its estimates, the underlying weakness and volatility of sterling negatively affected the competitiveness of Irish exports, reducing the value of trade with the UK by a potential €570 million in 2016. However, this was offset by increased exports to other international and emerging markets such as North America, China and the rest of Asia, and overall, the value of agri food exports increased in 2016.
