Brexit could put an extra 10 cents (8.7p) on the price of a loaf in Ireland, the milling industry warned.
Eighty per cent of the flour used in the Republic for baked goods and other products comes from the UK, and may face an inflation-busting tariff if a deal is not struck.
If Irish producers switched suppliers to those operating within the EU to avoid trade barriers, then jobs would be lost in the UK, according to the National Association of British and Irish Millers.
Director Alex Waugh said: "If tariffs were to be introduced the rate the EU normally charges those at would add eight to 10 cents to a loaf of bread in the Republic.
"It is pretty inflationary, assuming the flour continues to come from the same source as now.
"Once you introduce a tariff everything changes, so the likelihood is that the flour currently coming from the UK would come from somewhere else in the EU where there would not be a tariff."
He said the result would be jobs lost in the UK.
Flour is sent from the UK to Ireland to be refined into anything from bread and cakes to coating for chicken nuggets and battered fish.
It is often exported back to the UK as part of finished goods.
Over the last 20 years the UK has become the main supplier of milled flour to the Republic.
The only mill in the Republic is at Portarlington in Co Laois in the Midlands.
Half of the flour used by Irish bakers is milled on the island of Ireland, a significant proportion of that from Belfast, and the rest comes from England, Mr Waugh said.
He added: "What we are seeing is politicians trying to respond to different pressures in different places.
"From the point of view of our business, maintaining that tariff-free trade between the UK and Ireland is crucial."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel