THE PROPOSED shutdown of the agriculture industry next Thursday to highlight the danger to the sector from World Trade Talks has received a major boost with Larry Goodman confirming he will close his AIBP factories.
The protest will also see farmers take to the streets of Dublin to protest at Dublin Castle where EU Commission president José Manuel Barroso is due to address the Forum on Europe.
The Irish Farmers' Association, Macra na Feirme and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association have been organising the protest to spotlight the danger to Irish agriculture should the EU continue to make concessions on agriculture to cut a deal in other sectors.
The so-called "Mandelson Shutdown", to highlight the handling of the EU negotiations by the EU trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, will also involve the co-operatives, other major processors, marts co-operatives and the grain sector.
Mr Goodman, the State's largest meat processor, confirmed yesterday he would shut his plants because of his concern with the trade talks.
A spokesman for Meat Industry Ireland, Cormac Healy, said he expected the full processing sector would close down from noon to 3pm because of the radical impact Mr Mandelson's proposals would have on the sector and on agriculture generally.
More details of next Thursday's protest have emerged from the organising committee. The farming groups plan to meet at noon outside the EU Commission's offices on Molesworth Street and and will march to Dublin Castle to protest at the arrival of Mr Barroso, who is due at Dublin Castle for the 3pm meeting.
IFA president Padraig Walshe appealed for support from processors and agribusiness groups and those dependent on agriculture.
He said the sector and the general public should be aware that a previous World Trade Agreement decision had wiped out Ireland's sugar beet industry. "The Mandelson proposals, as they are, would do the same for the beef, sheep and whitemeat sector," Mr Walshe said.
Next week's protest will come following vital discussions due in Brussels next Monday when the EU's farm ministers meet. Before that, Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan will hold bilateral talks with her French counterpart, Michel Barnier. France and Ireland are leading agricultural opposition to any more concessions being made by the EU in the current negotiations to find a trade deal. They believe that agriculture could be sacrificed to find a deal in other areas of trade which are still outstanding.
The next important move in the WTO process will take place in Geneva on May 19th where 144 agriculture ministers from around the globe will meet to try and progress the negotiations.