Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has met with his UK counterpart in London to discuss matters of “mutual interest” in relation to bilateral trade.
The meeting between Minister McConalogue and Steve Barclay, UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, took place yesterday (Wednesday, April 18).
Barclay’s department, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is responsible for the border controls which apply to agri-food goods imported to the island of Britain from the EU.
According to Minister McConalogue, he told Barclay that it is in both countries’ interests that trade in agri-food continues to function “as effectively as possible”, despite the more complex administrative and control arrangements required as a result of Brexit.
“In this context, and against the background of the introduction this year of enhanced UK controls on agricultural goods entering and transiting Britain from the EU, we have agreed that our officials will engage closely to iron out any technical issues that might arise and avoid any unnecessary friction for Irish exporters,” Minister McConalogue said.
In January, new UK sanitary and phytosanitary import controls came into effect, which are among post-Brexit changes to trade rules.
Minister McConalogue and Secretary of State Barclay also welcomed the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive some two years after their collapse. Minister McConalogue commented on the “very effective partnership approach” that had led to the restoration of the institutions.
“The UK-Ireland bilateral relationship is deeply important to both countries. We are joint stewards of the Good Friday Agreement, close neighbours with unique and diverse community ties; and trading partners who share hugely significant economic and strategic links.
“The restoration of the Northern Ireland institutions was critically important, and of course the Windsor Framework provides an agreed basis that allows Northern Ireland, as part of the UK internal market, the unique advantage of access to the EU’s single market of nearly 450 million people. This can be a platform for growth and development in Northern Ireland into the future,” Minister McConalogue said.
During his visit to London, he also participated in a ‘business breakfast’ of UK business leaders to discuss the state of Anglo-Irish relations in 2024.
Bilateral trade between UK and Ireland is continuing to grow in both directions, and was worth some €122 billion, or about €2.4 billion per week, in 2023, according to the minister.
In terms of agri-food trade specifically, total bilateral trade in this area between the UK and Ireland was valued at €11.65 billion in 2023, with Irish exports to UK worth €6.88 billion and UK exports to Ireland worth €4.77 billion.
The two countries are each other’s number one export destination for food and drink, with 38% of Irish food and drink exports going to the UK in 2023. Ireland is third-largest source of UK imports of Food and Drink.
“We cannot take these economic relationships for granted. Brexit has demonstrated that we must continue to invest in the bilateral relationship with UK to maximise the benefits for both countries,” Minister McConalogue said.
“I and the whole Government are fully committed to this and my visit to London provided opportunities to emphasise that commitment to a range of UK business leaders,” he added.