Diverging North/South prospects for beef industry

Richard Halleron reports on how Northern Ireland appears to be falling behind as the Republic re-enters the US beef market.

Prior to Christmas, the expectation was that the dairy sector in Northern Ireland would be ravaged by a sustained period of extremely low farm-gate prices during the first part of 2015. However, on the back of two Fonterra Global Dairy Trade auctions in New Zealand, at which strengthening prices for a range of products were offered, the belief is that the year ahead for milk producers may not be as challenging as previously thought.

Hopefully, this will turn out to be the case. Meanwhile, the beef industry finds itself coping with a maelstrom of international activity, the impact of which for Northern Ireland has yet to be fully assessed.

Some analysts believe the confirmation that Irish beef will soon be winging its way to the United States constitutes a double-edged sword for the local red meat sector. The good news is that beef diverted from the Republic of Ireland to the US will help tighten supplies in the UK and the rest of Europe. And this will serve to maintain – and hopefully – strengthen returns for processors and farmers in this part of the world.

But, in reality, January’s confirmation of a beef deal between Ireland and the United States is only part one of a ‘double feature’ that may well be coming to cinemas south of the border in 2015. The outstanding piece in the jigsaw will come by way of an announcement from Beijing that Irish beef can be exported to China. And news on this front may well be forthcoming before the end of June. Chinese veterinarians inspected all relevant red meat processing premises in the Republic of Ireland before Christmas. And if everything goes according to plan, the authorities in Beijing will green light Irish beef imports before mid-summer. Again, Irish beef heading to China will help to strengthen the tenor of the beef market in the UK and the rest of the EU.

But all of this good news for the beef industry south of the border merely represents a “crumbs off the table” opportunity for the province’s red meat sector. The sad truth is that under the leadership of Dublin’s Agriculture Minister, Simon Coveney, the beef industry in the Republic has gained a real march on its counterpart in the North.

The reality is that the province’s beef sector enjoys the same clean, green image as that espoused so effectively by the Irish Food Board (Bord Bia) on behalf of its own industry. Yet we continue to fall way behind when it comes securing the new market outlets that represent the future life-blood of an industry here in Northern Ireland that employs thousands of people at both farm and factory level.

To a large extent, this North/South dichotomy can be attributed to the fact that our Agriculture Minister, Michelle O’Neill, must go through London when it comes to securing international trade deals. But, given that Westminster is giving active consideration to the feasibility of allowing Stormont to set its own corporation tax rate, why can a similar approach not to be taken in the context of our agri-food affairs?

The reality is that the drivers for farming and food in Northern Ireland are fundamentally different to those which come to the fore in England, Scotland and Wales. But that is all for the future.

The fact remains, however, that Northern Ireland’s red meat sector cannot look forward to dealing directly with the United States and China over the coming months. And that’s a bad news story for local farmers.