Accelerate progress on meat export deals, industry urges

Immediate government action is needed if the nation's livestock farmers are to capitalise on the promise of lucrative new markets for British meat once the nation leaves the European Union.
A £200m deal that will see UK pog trotters exported to China, has recently been announced by the Government. Picture by Gary Longbottom.A £200m deal that will see UK pog trotters exported to China, has recently been announced by the Government. Picture by Gary Longbottom.
A £200m deal that will see UK pog trotters exported to China, has recently been announced by the Government. Picture by Gary Longbottom.

According to the UK Livestock Brexit Group, now is the time for the Government to seize the initiative and accelerate the progress that Whitehall departments have made with the help of industry groups since last year’s EU referendum.

The collective of 21 leading livestock bodies from England and Wales warned that there is still “long hard work” ahead, some of which only the Government can do, to secure new overseas markets and protect existing markets in time for there to be a smooth and beneficial Brexit transition for the livestock trade.

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The group’s chairman, Chris Dodds, said now is the time for the Government to take a proactive stance.

Mr Dodds, who is also the executive secretary of the Livestock Auctioneers Association, said: “We are pleased that ministers have now been talking about transition periods, giving the time needed for the work to be done. Countries don’t take short cuts with food; why would they? But it means this takes time, and to be ready with markets after Brexit we need to be working hard now.”

A “temporary” customs union with the EU is one of the options being considered by British officials in a bid to avoid a Brexit cliff edge come March 2019, with the Prime Minister and her Cabinet members having stated their commitment to securing “friction-free trade” with the EU after Brexit.

Meanwhile, livestock industry bodies have been working with government departments since the EU referendum to identify what fresh international trade opportunities exist for British meat.

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That work has already brought some victories. Last week the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced a new £200m export deal with China for UK pig trotters, and before that, a £34m deal for British beef with the Philippines.

Mr Dodds said: “We have opened up export markets that many British consumers may not even realise exist. Products such as chicken feet and pig’s trotters have limited demand from the UK consumer, but there is good demand for these, along with prime meat products, in new Asian markets, adding value for UK producers.”

But winning these markets “takes hard, sustained work, involving Government”, the livestock chief said.

Setting out the UK Livestock Brexit Group’s intentions, he added: “As a group of independent dedicated livestock organisations, we offer unrivalled knowledge, understanding and representation of the entire UK livestock industry. We want to work with Government to assist in the development of a dynamic industry for future generations and the UK economy.”

POSITIVE VIEW OF FARMING

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An overwhelming majority of people have positive of perceptions of farming after the Brexit vote, according to the National Farmers’ Union.

The union’s first post-referendum Farmer Favourability survey, of 2,000 adults in England and Wales, found that 68 per cent had a favourable or very favourable view of British farming, 90 per cent said farming was important to the UK economy and 89 per cent thought that it was important to have a productive farming industry.

Some 64 per cent said they trust British food more than food from overseas and 66 per cent often or always looked for British food at the shops.

Around three-quarters agreed farmers should receive assistance towards protecting the environment, dealing with climate change, for investing in farm businesses for future generations and ensuring a fair standard of living for farmers.