The latest Central Bank Quarterly Bulletin has warned that Irish consumers could see potential shortages of some types of food in addition to paying more for them.
The bank expects Ireland’s economy to grow by 4.4% this year if the UK leaves the EU with an agreement, but said that a no deal would have an immediate disruptive impact.
Substantial Disruption
‘A disorderly Brexit would be associated with additional congestion, disruption to transport services and delays at the border. Given the importance of time-sensitive agri-food products in Irish-UK trade, the disruption to Irish trade from infrastructure bottlenecks could be substantial,’ the report said.
‘For consumers, this disruption could result in increases in the price of imported goods while the availability of some products could also be jeopardised,’ it said.
On the other side of things, Irish exports to the UK would fall due to an immediate and large reduction in demand, with agriculture and food being the worst hit.
However, The bank emphasised that these warnings are based on a number of key assumptions as opposed to a solid forecast.
It suggested that in the face of tougher economic conditions, which is mostly caused by external events, would see businesses cancelling or delaying investments.
Consumer spending would also take a hit as concerns over jobs and income take over.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
