The Irish Grain Growers’ Group (IGGG) is urging the Irish government not to accept what the organisation regards as a two-tier Mercosur deal.
IGGG chair Bobby Miller explained:
“Pushing to ban imports of beef from the Mercosur region, while still allowing large tonnages of grain and feedstuffs into the country from South America represents a slap in the face for Irish tillage farmers,” he said.
According to Miller, 750,000t of grains and other feedstuffs are imported into Ireland on an annual basis.
“IGGG is not calling for an outright ban on these imports. Rather, we want to the value and quality of native Irish grains fully recognised by merchants, compounders and all those other grouping operating right along the farming food chain.
“This is not happening at the moment. Essentially, it has resulted in tillage farmers being treated as second-class citizens.
“The last thing we need is a Mercosur deal, which acts to further endorse this wholly unjust situation,” he said.
Mercosur deal
With other farm bodies and the Taoiseach “making noise about Mercosur now, I think they need to nail their colours to thr mast when it comes to South American feedstuffs, including the likes of maize and soya hulls.
“We can’t be feeding large quantities of these feedstuffs to cattle while finishing them in sheds over the coming months and expect tillage farmers to support campaigns that support the current Mercosur deal,” Miller said.
The IGGG representative pointed out that the same issues relating to deforestation and loss of biodiversity, which are put forward when calling for restrictions on beef imports into Europe, are equally valid where the production of grains within the Mercosur bloc are concerned.
“Brussels and, for that matter, the Irish government, can’t have it every way. Producing beef and milk using Mercosur grain, soya and other feedstuffs is totally unethical,” he continued.
Ireland imports cereals and by-products from a total of 60 countries.
Miller explained: “However, the potential to increase local grain production three-fold exists.
“Only one-third of the land suited for cereal production in Ireland is being used for this purpose at the present time. Grain imports lie at the heart of the challenge facing the Irish tillage sector.”
“Currently, large tonnages of barley are coming into the country on a daily basis. This is happening at the very height of the Irish harvest when ample sources of home grown grains are available to Irish feed compounders.”