ALCOHOL BILL COULD REQUIRE WTO SCRUTINY

THE government is still optimistic about getting the Public Health (Alcohol) bill through in July, despite EU opposition to a new cancer warning on the label.

Talks are ongoing with Italy and Portugal, which issued detailed opinions on the new cancer warning earlier this year.

Under EU rules the government can’t finalise the bill until July 20, after either amending it or justifying its position to the two countries.

The drinks industry says the move would impede free trade within the EU and restrict foreign drinks producers from competing with their Irish counterparts.

The Swiss drinks federation, SpiritSuisse, is the latest to comment on the bill — first published in 2015 by then-health minister Leo Varadkar — urging the EU to bring the bill to the World Trade Organisation. THE proposed merger of ASDA and Sainsbury’s could be bad news for Irish beef farmers as the move is like to put significant downward price pressure on suppliers.

Larry Goodman’s ABP is the principal beef supplier to both ASDA and Sainsbury’s.

Paul Kelly of Ibec’s Food and Drink Ireland predicted “downward price pressure on suppliers” was one of the “likely outcomes” of the merger being approved UK authorities.

The combined entity will have over 30pc of the UK grocery market, with annual sales of £51bn (€57bn) across around 2,800 stores.

The deal, should it get the green light, is targeting savings of £500m (€566m) across the merged business.