Backstop solution in the offing

The political temperature is high over Brexit, but despite the war of words at Westminster there is some evidence that London and Brussels are inching towards a deal. This is likely to be based on the existing Withdrawal Agreement, rejected three times in the House of Commons, but with changes to the controversial Irish backstop.

These are likely to be based around some form of arrangement to allow free trade in agricultural and food products from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland and possibly the rest of the EU.

The deal is likely to include a lengthy transition period for changes to be implemented.

This would be a better outcome for agriculture than a no-deal exit from the EU. It could also prevent a surge of cheap food imports into the UK from countries outside Europe.

One driver for a deal is that the Irish Central Bank warned that the Irish beef industry, its biggest agricultural sector, faces an economic meltdown from a no-deal Brexit outcome.

Opposition to the planned Mercosur trade deal between the EU and key countries in South America has been intense, but confirmation from a member state that it will veto the deal has come from a surprising source.

Ireland and France have been in the vanguard of opposition because of potential damage to their beef industries from South American imports, but it is Austria that has said it will block any deal, which must have unanimous support to be agreed.

While a number of countries are part of Mercosur, the focus is on Brazil, because of its size and accusations of poor environmental standards.

Opposition is largely on environmental grounds and in a poll almost 80% of Austrians said they wanted the deal blocked.

Austria could now become a rallying point for other member states opposed to the deal, which has taken close to 20 years to negotiate.

If it is blocked, that outcome will be widely welcomed by the farming lobby across the EU.

European tractor sales rose in the first half of 2019 but manufacturers are warning that sales will level off or even fall when the full-year results are published.

In total, almost 100,000 tractors were sold, with around 75% going to agriculture.

The biggest markets are France and Germany and both reported large increases in sales. Registrations of new tractors also rose in Spain and Italy.

While these top performing countries enjoyed sales increases of up to 40%, the opposite applied in the UK, with a 4% drop in sales. Falls were also experienced in Hungary, the Netherlands and Russia.

In the UK, lost sales were put down to a loss of farmer confidence because of Brexit uncertainty.

Picture: Getty Images. Opposition to the planned Mercosur trade deal with South American countries like Brazil is growing.