DUBLIN: The food and drink sector stated that the price of bread in Ireland would rise by 9% from now on as a result of post-Brexit tariffs on flour imports. This indicates that the price of goods arriving in Ireland will increase in the coming days as a result of post-Brexit tariffs. This will have a huge negative impact on the Irish bakery sector.
The Food Drink Ireland stated that tariffs would have a massive negative impact on the competitiveness of Irish bread and baked goods producers.
The warning follows a statement by Paul Kelly, director of Ibec Group Food Drink Ireland that imports of flour from the UK will have to pay €172 or 50% more per tonne. Mr. Kelly said that the price increase is due to the high proportion of US and Canadian wheat used in commonly purchased flour.
Mr. Kelly noted that there is a requirement under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement that the wheat used should be of UK or EU origin, with a maximum tolerance of 15% for grain from other countries such as Canada or the USA. “If the wheat used to make flour is more than 15% of third country origin, the full tariff of €172 per tonne becomes payable,” he said.
“This is a significant problem for the Irish Bakery industry, which purchases flour from millers in Great Britain with a high proportion of third country wheat, mainly Canadian or US which is rarely below the 15% tolerance level,” he said.
At the same time, Mr. Kelly said that: “In order to avoid distortion of trade and negative impacts on Irish consumers we are seeking a derogation for the Irish bakery sector from this specific Rule of Origin in order to deliver a tariff free solution and put the businesses on a level playing field with UK and EU bakery competitors.”
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