President of the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) Ivor Ferguson called for the immediate creation of a new marketing organization for the agriculture and food sector in Northern Ireland.

The creation of such a body was one of the key recommendations contained in the “Towards Growth” strategy, published by the Council on Agri-Food Strategy back in 2013.

“The principles contained in the proposal to create a new marketing organization were widely accepted by all political parties and various groups of stakeholders. As far as I understand, the delay in creating a new marketing authority is related to money.

But given the many challenges that agriculture and the food sector in Northern Ireland are currently facing, this should not be allowed to happen, ”Ivor Ferguson said and emphasized the need for the farmers and food sectors to provide new markets, especially in light of Brexit.

The President of the Union confirmed that the creation of a new marketing authority would allow Northern Ireland to be constantly present in all the world's leading food markets and added: “This is what we simply cannot do at present.”