Talks begin this morning between the Irish Farmers' Association and the importer behind a shipment of cheap English wheat that farmers prevented being off-loaded from a ship at Drogheda port over the weekend.
Close to 400 farmers converged on the Co Louth port in the early hours of Saturday to protest at the importation of the wheat. They succeeded in preventing the shipment being off-loaded on to waiting lorries, and instead the trader who organised its shipment is to negotiate with them today.
The farmers say they cannot compete with the British wheat, which is produced with lower overheads and sold at a lower price.
The arrival on the EU market last winter of wheat from eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union also seriously affected the price Irish farmers can secure.
The Arklow Sky arrived at Drogheda port on Friday night, and the IFA organised the protest to coincide with the off-loading of its cargo of 3,000 tonnes. "We want the industry to back us because this is an issue that has to be resolved at European level. We warned last year that it was a crazy move to open up the market to grain from former Soviet countries and that it would become unprofitable for Irish farmers," said the IFA's grain secretary, Mr Fintan Conway.
He said the money offered for Irish grain was below the actual cost of producing it and the importation of English wheat was forcing down the price Irish farmers can get. The British wheat is sold at around £51 or close to €80 a tonne compared to up to €85 for Irish wheat.
The IFA has blamed the EU decision to lift tariffs on wheat from the Balkan states last year, which they said resulted in the EU being flooded with even cheaper wheat and further cut their already slim margins.
Last week the IFA met the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, and asked him to put a moratorium on imports until after the harvest.
"We want the Minister to go to Brussels and secure a proper tariff system based on the true world price of wheat because our price is currently way under the world price yet we have higher costs," said Mr Conway.
He said the protest was the first of a series planned for all ships carrying wheat to the dock.
Drogheda port is the primary commercial port between Dublin and Belfast, and the arrival of the ship into Co Louth, which along with Meath is the highest wheat-producing county in Ireland, provoked the ire of many local farmers.
"Our margins have been dropping for the last number of years, and we want the EU to take action. This is the same EU that wants traceability for farmers," said Mr Tony Brady, who farms at Kildalkey, Co Meath.
"Wheat like this is taking away our livelihood," said Mr Joe Hoare from Balbriggan.