An Australian free trade deal could be catastrophic to the UK sheep sector says the National Sheep Association (NSA).
Australia currently has a quota to export just under 20,000 tonnes of sheep meat to the EU, which it fulfils every year. However, with an annual production of more than 700,000 tonnes, the country is said to be keen to open up more trade opportunities and seize on Brexit as an opportunity to renegotiate its EU quota. According to the NSA the country also has its eye on a separate UK deal, seeing it as a prime destination for its lamb and mutton products.
Phil Stocker, NSA chief executive, however, commented: “A free trade deal with Australia or New Zealand may be beneficial for some UK industries but could have a catastrophic effect on UK sheep farmers and we cannot sit back and be sacrificed for the benefit of others.
“Given the fundamental role our sheep sector has in maintaining the rural environment, landscape and community in the UK, we cannot afford to be overlooked in crucial trade negotiations.
“The UK sheep sector is already suffering unacceptably high levels of imports of New Zealand lamb, much of which is sourced by retailers at times of the year when UK product is in plentiful supply. We would be keen to see an outcome of Brexit being tighter controls on New Zealand lamb being allowed into this country, and we certainly need to avoid making the situation worse by allowing Australian product to head our way too.”
Recent figures from Meat and Livestock Australia show the country produced 516,366 tonnes of lamb and 196,040 tonnes of mutton in 2015/16, exporting 56% of total lamb production (worth $1.78 billion) and 91% of mutton production ($700 million). The main destinations were the Middle East, USA and China.
“The UK is currently an importer and exporter of lamb, which helps balance supply and demand through the year and exploits ideal sheep producing conditions in the UK,” Stocker added. “However, NSA believes more should be done to grow the UK domestic market and increase self-sufficiency in lamb production and consumption – especially as we do not know what access we will have to EU markets in the future. We currently export around 36% of UK lamb, with France and the rest of the EU taking the majority of this. A priority for our sector is negotiating a trade deal with the EU post-Brexit.”
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.
