Farmers’ leader warns EU membership could cut producer prices 40%

Producer prices would fall sharply if Iceland joined the European Union, Sigurbjörg Ottesen, head of the cattle farmers’ division at the Farmers’ Association of Iceland, told mbl.is. She said the drop could come long before any potential benefits from lower interest rates.

“We cannot accept EU membership if producer prices for farmers fall by 40%, as happened in Finland,” Sigurbjörg said. “We need to start by putting our own house in order before allowing anyone else to join the table.”

Sigurbjörg also warned that an industry dependent on exemptions could never be certain those exemptions would remain in place, since their continuation would depend on the political climate in Brussels.

“We cannot have everything depend on what politicians abroad say and do,” she said.

She recalled that, during Iceland’s previous application for EU membership, the Farmers’ Association approved seven safeguards as conditions for its position on membership. The safeguards were developed through an extensive internal process between 2009 and 2011.

The agriculture minister at the time presented the safeguards to the government and stated in a response to the association that he supported them.

Sigurbjörg said it was important to establish whether the current agriculture minister had made a new decision on the issue, given that the government has stressed that an August vote concerns continuing the previous membership negotiations.