The agri-food sector is one of the most exposed to the impacts of Brexit, primarily due to its exposure to the UK market. The seafood and fishing industries are also uniquely exposed to Brexit, given the sharing of fishing grounds with the UK.

Since 1 January 2021, new changes for the Irish agri-food industry including customs and regulatory requirements (including SPS checks) for importers and exporters of agri-food products have come into effect. Export certification and other requirements in respect of movement of goods to, from, and through Great Britain have also been introduced.

These changes could increase the cost of trade and may result in delays in the movement of goods, although every effort is being made to ensure the minimum possible disruption to trade flows.

It is important to note that these changes do not apply with respect to trade in goods between Ireland and Northern Ireland, where the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland applies.

Under the Protocol, Northern Ireland remains aligned to a limited set of Union rules, notably related to goods, and the Union Customs Code. Northern Ireland must fully comply with relevant EU rules and standards, for example on food products and live animals to ensure adherence to SPS and IUU requirements.

The Government continues to work at national level, with industry and with sectoral bodies to ensure that businesses around the country can manage their risks.

We will also continue to work closely with the EU and fellow Member States to identify options for the fishing industry , including a common framework to manage potential tying-up of boats in a situation where no agreement is reached with the UK.

Government has introduced a range of dedicated measures in recent Budgets. These are aimed at reducing both on-farm and agri business costs through, principally, a series of low-cost loan schemes. Additional grant supports to Bord Bia and to Teagasc are designed to intensify market and product diversification to reduce our exposure to the UK market.

The Future Growth Loan Scheme, introduced in Budget 2019 with up to €300 million available in longer-term loans has recently been expanded to make up to €800 million available. This scheme supports strategic capital investment by businesses in a post-Brexit environment at competitive rates and for terms of 7-10 years. Jointly funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, it provides long-term, unsecured investment finance for farmers, fishermen and small-scale companies in the food and seafood sectors. This builds on loan schemes announced in the two previous Budgets.

The expanded Brexit Loan Scheme provides working capital loans to eligible businesses from €25,000 up to €1.5 million, including unsecured loans up to €500,000, for terms of up to three years and a maximum interest rate of 4%.

In addition to supports available from the Government, the European Commission has proposed to allocate €1 billion from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve to Ireland. This represents 25% of the initial allocation of €4.2bn for 2021 and reflects the unique, adverse and disproportionate impact of Brexit on Ireland.

Please see further information on the full range of Government Brexit Programmes Supports here .

The Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland will see Northern Ireland remain aligned to a limited set of EU rules, mostly related to goods. It avoids any customs or regulatory checks or controls on the island of Ireland.

The UK has become a ‘Third Country’ for trade and customs purposes. In addition to customs formalities, a range of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) checks for live animals and animal products, as well for plants and plant products including wood packaging have been introduced.

The Government has invested in additional infrastructure, staffing and IT systems capacity at our ports and airports so that the changeover to the new arrangements is as efficient as possible. The preparations that your business undertakes will be a key part of this, ranging from submitting pre-declarations to ensuring accuracy of all relevant documentation.

If you trade with Great Britain in plants, animals or products of plant or animal origin (with additional extra requirements for fish and seafood products), there are steps that you need to take to ensure that any potential disruptions to your business are reduced.

Detailed information and practical steps for all businesses on trading with Great Britain, including for businesses that import or export animals or animal products, or plants or plant products is available here

For information on the impact of Brexit on the supply of Veterinary Medicine Products, and the movement of high-health horses/equines, see the Government’s Brexit Readiness Action Plan .

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has also issued a number of Trader Notices for businesses to help them to prepare for Brexit.

On markets, the Government continues to work with the industry to increase the sector’s footprint in international markets and, through budgetary supports, with the State agencies involved in market and product diversification.

Trade missions play a key role in developing market access and advancing trade. In recent years, successful visits have taken place to Turkey, China, Japan, South Korea, Algeria, and Egypt, among others. However, traditional “in person” visits are not currently feasible due to the pandemic. Therefore, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in collaboration with Bord Bia, adapted and initiated a series of virtual Trade Missions and high level customer engagements during Q4 2020. As part of this programme, Ministers McConalogue and Heydon addressed a webinar with key German customers and led virtual trade receptions hosted by the Irish Embassies in Paris and London.

Our Ministers also led virtual trade Missions between Irish exporters and existing and potential clients in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. Interactive engagements were also held with key clients across a range of locations including the UK, US, UAE, China, the Philippines and Japan. In 2020, an agriculture attaché was appointed to the Irish Embassy in South Korea to further progress our market access and trade possibilities. Also, an additional attaché was assigned to our Embassy in London to assist in the maintenance of trade post Brexit.

Additional funding provided to Bord Bia has been used to deliver targeted advice to individual companies, and to conduct a market prioritisation exercise that is informing the Government’s approach to market diversification activities. Product diversification has also been supported through additional funding of €8.8 million to Teagasc to develop its national food innovation hub and funding to support investment in the prepared consumer foods sector. Bord Iascaigh Mhara is working with seafood companies on competitiveness, market diversification and training.

Key to our export success has been our commitment to trade liberalisation in order to open new markets for all our trading sectors. The EU’s Free Trade Agreements with Third Countries help to open new markets, break down barriers and provide new opportunities for Irish-based firms, in particular, for agri-food businesses who often face the toughest barriers in exporting to Third Countries. Brexit has reinforced the importance of accelerating the delivery of EU trade deals with leading economies and regional blocs. Further information is available here.

Information on the full range of Government Brexit supports is available here .

Government recognises the importance of agriculture and fisheries, in supporting balanced regional and coastal development and employment and has engaged with other Member States and the European Commission regarding the impact of Brexit on the Irish agri-food and fisheries sectors.

We will continue to work closely with the EU and fellow Member States to identify options for the fishing industry.

For further information, visit the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine .

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