The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has stated that the amount of imports – referring mainly to maize – being used by some feed merchants in Ireland is “inexcusable” – some of these merchants are refusing to use Irish grain which is still available in store.
The chairman explained that the new government cannot expect Irish farmers to use fewer plant protection products, less fertiliser and embrace biodiversity while simultaneously allowing large volumes of maize imports with “inferior sustainability standards” .
The statement pointed out that – despite producing 2.4 million tonnes of native grains last harvest – Ireland still imported huge amounts of maize which was mainly GM maize from third countries.
From July 2019 to the end of February 2020, approximately 580,000t of maize were imported into the Republic of Ireland from non-EU countries.