The UK’s key agriculture organisations are seeking “free and frictionless” EU trade, saying the EU will remain the largest market for UK farm products for the foreseeable future.
The UK Farming Roundtable has issued a statement saying that while the UK government negotiates trade agreements around the world, the EU agreement must be the priority.
It said, “We are less than eight weeks from [the end of the Brexit transition period], but in many parts of the UK, farmers and landowners have no clear detailed picture of what or how new policy frameworks will replace those run under [Europe’s] Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for almost 50 years.
“Our organisations are unclear how measures in each part of the UK will avoid dislocation and disruption of the UK single market, or how the impact of new trade agreements will be weighed in the speed and direction of domestic agricultural transition.”
It calls on the government for:
- Clear roadmaps setting out agricultural transition plans, giving all farmers the opportunity to consider and respond to policy options and adapt their business plans.
- Assurance that public investment in climate-friendly sustainable farming systems is maintained during and beyond this policy transition.
- Confidence that retaining high UK farm production standards will be a material consideration as new trade agreements are negotiated and agreed.
The roundtable includes the NFU, NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland, Ulster Farmers’ Union, Soil Association, RABDF, TFA, British Poultry Council, National Beef Association, CLA, National Sheep Association, NFYFC, National Pig Association, British Egg Industry Council, Leaf UK, LAA, AHDB, Sustainable Food Trust, Scottish Land & Estates. It is chaired by NFU President Minette Batters.
