Creed pledges support for mushroom sector

The Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed, and the EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan at the European conference on rural development. Photo: Provision THE Government is considering measures in Budget 2017 to help the hard-pressed Irish horticultural sector left reeling by the UK Brexit vote and volatility in exchange rates.

Agriculture Minister Michael Creed confirmed that the Government wants to do whatever it can to support Irish producers, especially mushroom farmers, who are uniquely exposed to the Brexit fall-out.

“I am very concerned. I am acutely conscious of the particular difficulties of the horticulture sector and the mushroom industry,” he said.

“I am on record as having said, immediately post the UK vote, that there is no upside for the Irish agri-food sector from the Brexit vote.”

Mr Creed was speaking at the Cork 2.0 rural development conference where he welcomed EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan as keynote speaker.

The Cork TD noted that jobs have already been lost within the Irish horticulture industry in the fall-out from Brexit.

“Unfortunately, the closure of a Tipperary mushroom plant (last week) confirms that,” he said.

“In fact, by coincidence my officials in the Department of Agriculture were meeting with one of the biggest Irish mushroom producers when the news of that closure came in to the public domain.”

“The mushroom industry is quite exposed with a couple of thousand employees in that space and 70 growers. But we will work through the crisis with these companies.”

He vowed that Budget 2017 will include measures to assist struggling producers and exporters. However, he refused to be drawn on specifics of what will be offered.

“With reference to the sterling-euro exchange rate, we have been in this position a number of occasions before and we have come through,” he said.

“But this is a sector that is particularly vulnerable and the Department will be looking at what ways in which we can assist,” he vowed.