The categorisation of Northern produce as "British" has had a "catastrophic" impact on local farming, Sinn Féin's vice president Mr Pat Doherty, has claimed.
Launching the party's manifesto on agriculture and rural development in Belfast yesterday, he called for "all-Ireland co-ordination" in the sector and the removal of UK status from food exports from the North.
"At the heart of this is an understanding that being tied to British policy decisions has been bad for local farmers," he said.
Other elements of the manifesto include support at EU level for the decoupling of farm production and incomes, blocking the proliferation of genetically modified (GM) crops on the island, and the commissioning of a rural white paper "with a strong all-Ireland dimension".