The Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI), has today warned that a ‘No Deal’ Brexit would be disastrous for the All-island drinks industry, a new position paper highlighted.
The group said that a 'No Deal' outcome could delay and disrupt 23,000 cross-border truck movements, applying unnecessary tariffs on cross-border supply chains and putting €364 million worth of trade between the UK and Ireland at risk.
"The Irish drinks industry is a highly integrated all-island sector, that’s important for both the Irish and Northern Irish economies'" Patricia Callan, director of ABFI stated.
"For us, Brexit could be highly disruptive, particularly if there was to be a disastrous ‘No Deal’ scenario."
The new ABFI paper outlines that global drinks exports from the island of Ireland were valued at €1.6 billion in 2017.
Aggregate Trade Value
The aggregate value of trade in drinks products between the UK and Ireland was €364 million, one-third of which, (€121 million) was the aggregate value of north-south trade. The UK remains the dominant market for Irish beer (71%) and cider (85%).
“In terms of EU-UK trade, the economic interests of both the EU and the UK would be best served by the UK remaining in a customs union with the EU," Callan added.
"If this cannot be achieved, then a comprehensive alternative approach must be put in place. A fall-back to EU external tariffs or WTO rates must be avoided.”
New Cross-Border Tariffs
In its paper, ABFI highlighted that a 'No Deal' Brexit could result in a range of new tariffs on cross-border supply chains, including: Tariffs of up to €93 per tonne on barley and €131 per tonne on malt; An EU external tariff of 5% on 130 million glass bottles imported into Ireland from the UK; A 7.2% tariff on apples grown in Northern Ireland.
Callan stated: “Tariffs would add significant costs to Northern Irish whiskey distilleries and breweries buying barley and malt from Ireland, to Irish craft distilleries and breweries buying specialist malts from the UK and to Irish cider producers buying apples from Co. Armagh.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
