Whelan: No-deal tariffs will ‘wipe out total profitability’ from NI dairy

Written by Agriland Team

No-deal Brexit tariffs will “wipe out total profitability” from the Northern Irish dairy industry, group CEO of Dale Farm Nick Whelan has warned.

In an interview with the BBC, the CEO of the dairy co-op gave a stark warning on the consequences a no-deal crash-out would have on the Northern Irish dairy sector.

“If we take dairy as an example, over 50% of the milk that’s produced here in Northern Ireland will be subject to EU tariffs,” Whelan explained.

Those tariffs will be in excess of 40% – in an industry that makes 3% – so, in very simple terms, that gives you the enormity of the challenge we have here.

“Beyond tariffs, there’s huge costs also – almost equivalent costs – in non-tariff barriers; and this is an industry that just cannot absorb those types of financial shocks – so we’ve been caught in a Brexit crossfire here.

“We’re going from a situation where we’ve got a really strong industry to an industry that will make no money.

“These tariffs on their own will wipe out total profitability from the industry – and we all know that that is not a sustainable situation.”

The warning by the Dale Farm CEO is the latest commentary on the subject of Brexit in recent days, as the October departure deadline draws closer.

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