A hard Brexit and the Public Health Alcohol Bill (PHAB) will create the "perfect storm" for the drinks sector according to an economic study carried out by the Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI).
The UK is Ireland’s biggest export market for food and drink with exports of €4.5bn in 2015. The result of the UK Brexit vote and subsequent sterling devaluation has led to a surge in cross border shopping, increased prices of Irish products and has increased the cost of Ireland as a tourist destination.
ABFI is calling on the Government to introduce a range of policy measures in the medium term to enable the sector to offset the risks posed by Brexit and the PHAB.
The economic impact study was commissioned by ABFI and found that beverage exports reached €1.4 billion to 139 markets in 2015 as well as over 200,000 jobs supported in the wider drinks and hospitality sector. There was an annual wage bill of over €4 billion for the sector in 2015.
The report’s author agri-economist Ciaran Fitzgerald said; “Since the Brexit vote last June and the subsequent decline in the value of sterling, the food and drink sector in Ireland has faced enormous challenges in the short term, including a surge in cross border shopping. In addition, measures proposed under the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill place will exacerbate pressure on a sector that employs 200,000 directly and indirectly. The outcome of Brexit negotiations remains unclear."
He added, "However, its vital that the Government puts in place a series of policy measures which will support the sector, ensure it gains access to new markets, supports new entrants and protects the unique geographic indicators for Irish Whiskey, Irish Poitin and Irish cream that we share with the North."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
