The head of the Dairy Board has warned that the weekend agreement on world trade in Hong Kong could result in the total elimination of butter exports from the EU. Dr Noel Cawley said the EU must come up with a formula to ensure this does not happen and protect farmers' incomes.
For four decades, the Dairy Board has been exporting product to about 100 countries worldwide using the Kerrygold label. Dairy exports are worth €1 billion annually from this country.
To assist the marketing efforts, the EU has been subsidising exports by paying the Board €75m annually in export subsidies. That figure is 10% of the Board's income. But the new World Trade agreement means that these subsidies will be abolished within eight years.
The Dairy Board says this would have significant repercussions and could bring EU butter exports to a halt unless something is done to modify the cut.
However in general, Managing Director Noel Cawley is optimistic about the future of the industry. He said 2005 was a good year but he predicted that next year will be challenging for the industry.
