Northern Ireland’s Minister of agriculture, environment, and rural affair, Edwin Poots, has raised concerns about the strain the war in Ukraine is putting on Northern Irland’s pic sector.
Mr Poots warned that the potential grain shortages and price rises as the war in Ukraine continues will have a negative impact on the country’s farming sector, and has called on the UK government to press the EU to relax its rules on important agriculture seeds, the BBC has reported.
He said that some of the country’s pig farmers are among the most at risk of going out of business as much of the grain imported from Ukraine is used as animal feed and warned that a drip in supply will have significant consequences for the pork industry.
He confirmed that he had asked for £70 million in support to help farmers affected by supply issues from Stormont’s finance department.
Earlier this week, Mr Poots met with his UK ministerial counterparts to discuss the ongoing difficulties caused by the war in Ukraine.
George Eustice, the UK minister for the environment, food, and rural affairs urged the Government to take more action: “It is vital we protect Northern Ireland’s food supplies, making sure everyone can access safe quality food at prices that are affordable.”
