Smith blamed for rise in feed costs
Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith has been accused of costing Irish farmers more than €20m in additional feed costs this year.
The Irish Grain and Feed Association (IGFA) has estimated that delayed approval of the soya bean variety MIR604 resulted in Irish farmers paying €23m in additional feed costs.
The European Commission approved the variety on November 30 after it received a positive safety assessment from the European Food Safety Authority.
Routine testing for low levels of genetically modified varieties in feed, and food imports to Europe, resulted in 100 alerts this summer, compared to 30 in 2008.
As a result, the supply of US soya into Europe ground to a halt, and the price of soya soared.
"As far back as May, the Irish Grain and Feed Association highlighted the potential shortfall in the soya bean marketplace this season," said IGFA director Deirdre Webb.
"Finally, the Commission itself authorised the last variety at the centre of these alerts, MIR604," she added.
Ms Webb accused Minister Smith of causing real damage to the feed industry by instructing his officials to abstain from voting on approval.
"Our own Minister for Agriculture has played a very real role in delaying these approvals," she said.
However, Minister Smith revealed in the Dáil last week that he had written to the European Commission with a view to setting a tolerance level for the low-level presence of genetically modified varieties.
In response to a Dáil question, Minister Smith said he had informed Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, of DG Sanco, that his officials would work closely with her officials to bring forward a proposal for the setting of a tolerance.
Ms Webb said the IGFA welcomed the minister's third announcement that he would support a tolerance.
"However, until he is prepared to share the content of his most recent communication with the commissioner with us, it is impossible to comment further," she said.
"Without a functioning approval system, Irish farmers are being refused the right to choose and are being burdened with the cost."
- Caitriona Murphy
Irish Independent
