Kerry Group sees UK food demand tumbling in a no-deal Brexit

DUBLIN, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) 's Kerry Group (Other OTC: KRYAF - news) has seen the British food market weaken and expects demand to drop further if Britain leaves the European Union without a deal on future trade relations, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

"We have only seen a tail-off in demand in the fourth quarter of 2018. The UK was quite robust until then," Edmond Scanlon, the CEO of the food and ingredients firm, told journalists in Dublin.

"If there was to be a crash-out of the European Union, one could expect a significant fall-off in the demand, at least in the short-term in the UK market," he said, adding that a no-deal Brexit could have "grave consequences" for Irish food producers.

(Reporting by Conor Humphries Editing by Edmund Blair)