The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has stood down its blockade at Waterford Port after securing a meeting with Boortmalt next week. The blockade was lifted this evening shortly before 7:00pm.

The meeting will take place early next week with senior executives of the company and the IFA’s President Tim Cullinan and Grain Committee chairperson Mark Browne.

This afternoon, August 7, members of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) caused an obstruction at Waterford Port where a shipment of grain was being unloaded.

The shipment, which arrived at the port at approximately 10:30pm last night, August 6, was being unloaded when members of the IFA’s grain and malting barley committees obstructed proceedings.

IFA members then gathered outside the port and can be seen in this picture (below).

It was later reported that the shipment was carrying approximately 1,500t of malt. Boortmalt released a statement claiming that the shipment was Irish barley which was malted in Antwerp.

The statement read: “Boortmalt is currently commissioning new and rebuilt plants in Athy, but as part of the continuous supply agreements with our Irish customers we exported some Irish barley for malting in Antwerp.

“We are now importing the malt, produced from Irish barley, for our customers through Waterford.”