Poultrymeat imports and competition
The Minister said EEC rules prevent restrictions on trade with member states, though raw poultrymeat imports are limited by animal-health rules. Imports are 16 per cent of requirements, mostly from Northern Ireland, whose producers benefit from scale and lower costs; the Minister agreed they have competitive advantages.
(Limerick West) and Mr. Leonard asked the Minister for Agriculture the proposals his Department have to curtail the importation of poultrymeat in view of the financial crisis facing many poultry producers in the country.
Comment on this
Under EEC rules we cannot impose restrictions for economic reasons on trade with other member states. That is a trend running through a lot of questions in the last few weeks. We are in the EEC and cannot impose restriction on trade with other members. However, because of our high avian health status, imports of raw poultrymeat are allowed from only Northern Ireland and Denmark.
Substantial aid is, of course, available for the modernisation of poultry plants. In 1982 £1.38 million was made available through the IDA and FEOGA for these purposes and applications for double this amount are under consideration at present.
Comment on this
Would the Minister agree that when we are importing a third of our requirements of poultrymeat the situation is serious? He said that the two countries he mentioned are the prime source of imports. Would he agree in relation to at least one of them that the built-in aids to that industry militate against fair competition between imports and the home-produced commodity?
Comment on this
I agree with the last part of the Deputy's question. Regarding his initial statement, we do not import a third of our requirements of poultrymeat. We import 16 per cent, which amounts to about £8 million worth of poultrymeat.
Comment on this
Of those imports 97 per cent come from Northern Ireland. In relation to the other part of the Deputy's question, yes, there is a considerable advantage to the North of Ireland producer in this field. However, much of it is due to the fact that this industry was highly developed before our accession to the EEC in 1973. They have far larger units and, therefore, are far more efficient producers. There are other benefits also. Energy, for instance, is considerably cheaper in the North and feeding stuff is also cheap. They have an advantage and that is a difficulty we must face up to.