Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart has issued renewed warnings about the EU’s Mercosur trade agreement, describing it as a potential “serious threat” to Northern Ireland’s agri-food sector.
The DUP’s Westminster agriculture, environment and rural affairs spokesperson warned that the agreement, strongly opposed by farmers in France and Italy, could expose Northern Ireland farmers to unfair competition from large-scale meat imports produced to lower standards.
“Under the proposed EU-Mercosur deal, tens of thousands of tonnes of beef and other agri-food products from South American regions, could enter the European market at reduced or zero tariffs,” Lockhart said.
“Increased quotas and lower tariffs risk flooding the market and driving prices down, placing enormous pressure on local family farms who already operate on tight margins.”
Lockhart said farmers in Northern Ireland are required to meet some of the most stringent animal welfare, food safety and environmental standards anywhere in the world, adding that Mercosur producers are not subject to equivalent regulatory red tape.
“Our farmers are bound by rigorous rules on animal welfare, traceability and environmental protection,” the MP continued.
“In contrast, producers in countries such as Brazil and Argentina are able to operate under far looser regimes, allowing them to produce food at a significantly lower cost. That creates a fundamentally uneven playing field.”
She highlighted particular concerns about hormone-treated beef, which is banned in the UK and EU, but remains legal in several Mercosur countries.
“There is genuine anxiety that consumers could be faced with beef and poultry produced using growth promoters and other practices that are prohibited here,” she explained.
“While assurances are given about standards, the reality is that enforcing compliance across long, complex global supply chains is extremely challenging.
“Once products enter the market, consumers may have little visibility over how that food was produced.”
Environmental concerns over Mercosur deal
Lockhart also raised environmental concerns, pointing to deforestation and land-use practices associated with large-scale South American agriculture.
“It is deeply contradictory to demand higher environmental standards from our own farmers, meanwhile the flood gates are open to imports linked to deforestation, higher carbon emissions and weaker environmental and animal welfare protection,” she said.
“That approach significantly undermines Northern Ireland’s agri-food sector.”
She has warned that increased reliance on imported produce could weaken domestic food security.
“With global instability, conflict, extreme weather and future pandemics all real and ongoing risks, weakening our domestic food supply is short-sighted,” she said.
“Once local farming capacity is lost, it cannot simply be switched back on.”
Meanwhile, with festive food shopping underway, Carla Lockhart is urging consumers to make informed choices at the checkout.
“Locally produced food is higher quality, fully traceable, more trustworthy and has a lower carbon footprint. Northern Ireland meat and poultry are quality assured from farm to fork,” she stressed.
“This Christmas and New Year, I am asking consumers to bypass cheaper imported and inferior products, in support of local farmers, farm shops, butchers, greengrocers and artisan producers.
“We should be backing our farmers, not sacrificing them through trade deals that prioritise volume over quality assured standards.
“Now is the time to strengthen Northern Ireland’s agri-food industry, protect food security and ensure a fair deal for those who feed our nation.”
