00:00How serious is the situation for European farmers now?
00:02We're looking at, again, rising oil prices, and that feeds right through to the fuel that
00:06farmers are using as well.
00:07Well, our farmers all across Europe have shown remarkable resilience through all of
00:11the challenges we face.
00:12But this is a particularly challenging time with the mix, as you've described there, of
00:16the geopolitical, the extreme weather, and the impact that has on our ability, a, to
00:23do the work, and b, the cost of inputs and availability of inputs, whether that be fuel
00:28or fertiliser.
00:28So, from an EU perspective, there has been a number of interventions to support our
00:33farmers and food production, not just to support farmers, but for the very consumers that consume
00:37that food to try and avoid the very significant inflationary impact that rising food prices
00:43can have.
00:44Will more need to be done?
00:45What are you discussing at the meeting today in terms of options?
00:47Well, we are in a very fluid situation.
00:49You see only overnight the changes in markets that can happen when President Trump makes
00:54an utterance and the different elements that happen there.
00:57But what we have done from a European perspective, the European Commission has eased state aid
01:02rules for member states in terms of their support of farmers around the area of fuel.
01:06Commissioner Hansen from the Agriculture Commissioner here in the EU introduced a Fertiliser Action
01:11Plan that we will be discussing and debating at our meeting of the EU Agricultural Ministers
01:15today that I will chair with Ireland having the presidency of the EU.
01:19And that Fertiliser Action Plan is about supporting member states with what is a key input.
01:25But then we also, as part of that action plan, is the building in the resilience of our agri-food
01:30systems across the EU to make sure we reduce our dependency on artificial fertiliser which
01:35is imported into the EU predominantly.
01:36And from that perspective that we have more nature-based fertiliser solutions into the future
01:43to build the resilience of our food systems.
01:44And I accept the long-term plan is important, but for a lot of farmers and for consumers
01:48who want to consume their food, the issue is short-term.
01:51Is what's on the table now enough?
01:53Do you think you'll need to go further than the current proposals?
01:55So it does depend on a number of factors.
01:58The weather this year had a very significant impact as well.
02:01The extreme weather and drought and that's to the point around the medium to longer-term resilience.
02:06That's really important because rare weather events are going to be extreme weather events.
02:10It's going to be less rare in the future, unfortunately.
02:13But yeah, look, Europe, I think, stands ready to support our agriculture sector and the interventions
02:17have been very significant this year.
02:19And I know from my perspective as the Minister for Agriculture in Ireland, we've been able
02:23to take that support from a fertiliser perspective, support our farmers from the price of fuel.
02:27But it's a dynamic situation.
02:29So we're able to do that during this period now and we monitor very closely in terms of where
02:35we might be into the new year.
02:36How concerned are you about the talk from the US of a potential carbon diesel exports
02:40coming from there?
02:41Look, you deal with situations as they arise.
02:44We are aware that there is no singular impact of just a conflict in one area.
02:50The knock-on impact always happens.
02:52So the Straits of Hormuz, 20% of the fuel that comes through there from a European perspective,
02:58but it's the knock-on impact that that can have on other areas.
03:01And so, look, I'm very conscious that there's elections coming up in the US and I think things
03:06that are said and things that are done between now and the elections in the midterms, you know,
03:10you would hope for more of a stabilisation on decisions then after that election process as well.
03:14OK, so for the moment you're hopeful that there'll be an avoidance of further carbs on the market?
03:18Yes, look, you see the price of Brent crude today, you know, that is impacting everybody.
03:23Farmers are hugely reliant on the use of fuel, obviously, because we don't have electric tractors or the like.
03:30So fossil fuel-based energy is really important and, obviously, it's the key component of fertiliser as well,
03:35which grows our food and supports it from that perspective.
03:38We also, of course, have had this record hot summer in Europe, issues of drought,
03:41a big effect for farmers all across the continent as well.
03:45Are there food supply risks going into this winter?
03:47There are challenges. Commissioner Hansen held a meeting a number of weeks ago with the leading farming organisations.
03:54I represented the Minister's Council at that meeting and, you know, you hear of the impact the drought had on,
04:00like, maize production across the EU member states.
04:04Different countries have had different challenges. In my own country, the south-east of the country was particularly impacted by
04:11grass growth.
04:11And we were a pasture-based system in Ireland where our cows and so our dairy and our beef production
04:16is grass-based.
04:18And so that has had an impact. We're seeing a bounce back in terms of the weather this autumn from
04:22that perspective.
04:23But it has left significant deficit in certain regions.
04:27But the fact is, our farming and our agricultural systems have huge resilience and we do bounce back better.
04:33And from that perspective, we build in these shocks as part of our business model now and to be expected.
04:41In terms of production, would you expect this to be the worst year in a decade or longer? Or how
04:45are you thinking about it in context?
04:47It definitely is a very significant year. You know, like, a 40% reduction in the maize crop from France,
04:52let's say, and I think from Slovenia, that was 70%.
04:55Where some of the figures a couple of weeks ago that were being mooted and I know colleagues will update
04:59us today at the Agri-Fish Council in terms of the latest scenario for them to manage to get through.
05:05So, you know, I do think consumers will see an impact in the shops in terms of the availability of
05:11certain food types.
05:12I know from our perspective in Ireland, we're famous for our potatoes. Our potatoes will be smaller this year and
05:17that has an impact if you want to chip them and the likes.
05:19So there are practical implications of this as well. That is what happens when you have such extreme weather.
05:25I just want to ask you a question about Ireland as well. Donald Trump on his recent visit announced the
05:29removal of tariffs on Irish whiskey.
05:30Have you heard any more details? Do you know when that's like it to take effect?
05:33No, our officials are working true with the U.S. officials. It is something that's very welcome.
05:38You know, we've constantly previously worked on a position of zero for zero tariffs and it was particularly challenging for
05:45us in Ireland from the perspective of British and Scotch whiskey being given a preferential zero for zero.
05:54So we welcome that. It was a nice gesture of President Trump, but obviously we work through the European Commission
05:59in terms of all of the different challenges there are.
06:01And the EU Commission, with whom we engage closely, continue to engage with the U.S. counterparts.
06:07Neil, I'll have Ukraine's Agriculture Minister with you at today's meeting as well.
06:10Of course, the Black Sea situation in terms of grain shipments has been a big concern as well.
06:14Is this something that you're expecting to see a further effect? How serious is it for the supplies of those
06:19commodities coming into the EU?
06:20Yeah, I think to a broader topic today, just the workings out of awful conflicts.
06:25You know, Europe stands with Ukraine yet again. We're delighted to have the Agrarian Minister from Ukraine with us today
06:31to update us on those points.
06:33But the outworkings of awful conflicts like the illegal invasion of Ukraine isn't just the human toll of the costs
06:42on the day of that war.
06:43It's the outworkings of that in terms of movement of cereals.
06:47Obviously, Ukraine is a breadbasket, as we know, in terms of its production of that, the impact of that on
06:52the Black Sea, not being able to move.
06:54So this does impact on significant pressure on food security supply as our food security in a broader context.
07:02So, look, we, you know, we obviously work very closely with Ukraine and we recognize their territorial integrity and their
07:10sovereignty.
07:10And we look forward to getting the update from the Agricultural Minister from Ukraine today.
07:13Thank you very much.
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