Hybu Cig Cymru-Meat Promotion Wales’ (HCC) chair Catherine Smith has warned industry stakeholders that Welsh farming’s goals for ‘world-leading’ sustainable production “could be derailed by red meat imports from less ambitious, lower standard marketplaces.”
Addressing the audience at HCC’s annual conference at Builth Wells, Smith said: “The Welsh Way – non-intensive, pasture-based production – is already recognised as an excellent example of how red meat should be produced sustainably. The whole industry here in Wales is on a mission to improve our standards still further and we simply can’t afford to give away our natural competitive advantages in hasty trade deals.”
Smith went on to say that HCC and the wider Welsh meat sector has “worked effectively to maintain our export markets, and to grow our trade with areas like the Middle East.” She added, however, that it is not “fair or sustainable on producers to prop open [the] national doors” to increased competition from imports from countries that don’t match the current standards of production in Wales.
She said that “would confuse loyal consumers, particularly in the foodservice and public procurement sectors, where they could be given the cheapest option and denied the right to make an informed choice.
“HCC wants consumers to have the right to know the full story behind the meat they eat; where it comes from and that it is produced sustainably and ethically.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
