Northern Ireland beef farmers have called for a five-year Brexit transition period, warning that the two-year plan outlined by Theresa May in Florence will just be a “stay of execution” for the industry.
The Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) is the first industry body to come out against the prime minister’s plan saying it needs more time to offset the negative impact of Brexit in Northern Ireland, which has the weakest economy of the 12 regions of the UK.
LMC research shows that Brexit could “devastate” the industry’s £1.1bn-a-year business with “grave consequences for the wider Northern Irish economy”.
Research funded by the body found that a cliff-edge departure from the EU would result in exports to Europe dropping 90% if the UK fell back to World Trade Organisation rules.
“WTO trading conditions would be complex, costly and disruptive,” LMC’s chief executive, Ian Stevens, said.
The only way of safeguarding the future of the industry would be “to have a five-year transition period with a mid-way review, to avoid an interim deal simply being a stay of execution for the industry,” he added.
The report was published as the fourth round of Brexit talks opened in Brussels with no solution for how to avoid physical border checks on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The LMC makes six recommendations, including an interim deal to stay in single market and customs union for five years with a mid-way review.
It also calls on the government to adopt EU official controls for animals and meat products in slaughterhouses, meat plants and collection centres to “permit frictionless cross-border trade” with the Republic of Ireland, which processes meat from Northern Ireland.
Last week during a two-day visit to Ireland, the European parliament’s Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, proposed that Northern Ireland could stay in the customs union and the single market.
The Democratic Unionist party has rejected the idea of a special arrangement allowing the region to stay in the customs union or single market.
While stressing that the DUP wanted a “seamless border”, the MEP Diane Dodds said it would “not countenance a solution that makes us different from other parts of the United Kingdom”.
The Northern Irish beef and sheep meat industry is worth £1.1bn. While 70% of sales in 2016 were to the UK, annual sales to the EU are estimated to be £200m.
