The cost of animal health remedies in Ireland could significantly rise as a result of Brexit, according to IFA Chief Economist Rowena Dwyer.
Plant protection products could also be affected in a similar manner, she added.
Dwyer was speaking at the launch of the IFA’s policy paper on Brexit in Dublin recently.
In the IFA’s policy paper the key issues that could affect each sector if Brexit is to go ahead were outlined.
In her presentation, Dwyer indicated that Ireland benefits from the mutual recognition of both plant protection products and animal health remedies, which are registered in the UK.
This significantly reduces the costs and increases the availability of these products on the Irish market, she said.
The exit of the UK from the EU presents a significant threat in this area, both from an increased cost and reduced availability perspective, she added.
One very interesting point that was made to me during the research on this was that the cost of inputs could significantly rise as a result of Brexit.
“The UK is a large market. It reams in products that can actually be used in Ireland, with the free movement of goods and so on.
“There would be concerns, with Ireland being a much smaller market, for increased costs and perhaps reduced availability of some of these – if the UK market was not within the overall EU structure,” Dwyer said.
Key Priorities for the IFA during the Brexit Negotiations
Meanwhile, there is no other sector that stands to suffer as much as the Irish agri-food sector in the aftermath of Brexit, the IFA President, Joe Healy, said.
The IFA is clear that the farming and food sector must be at the top of the Brexit agenda, not only in Ireland but at EU level, he said.
During the Brexit negotiations the key priorities for the agriculture sector are the maintenance of the closest possible trading relationship between the UK and EU, while preserving the value of the UK market, he said.
The provision of a strong CAP budget following the UK’s departure is also of vital importance, he added.