Irish Beef farmers are holding a series of protests calling on their government and the EU for support. Their concerns are an EU trade deal and the impact of Brexit when beef prices are already falling.
The new deal with Mercosur – a trade bloc whose members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – took 20 years to negotiate. It reduces tariffs on many goods including agricultural products and automobile parts. Farmers say cheap imports will undercut European produce.
At the end of July the Irish Farmers’ Association held a demonstration at the EU Food and Veterinary Offices in County Meath. They specifically wanted to highlight the current import of substandard South American beef products and called for a ban on them.
• A longer version of this article is on the web at www.cpbml.org.uk.