Farming in Aberdeenshire and Moray: Don't make us sacrificial lambs
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Domestic sheep farming must be safeguarded during future trade deals with New Zealand and Australia.
This was the message delivered by the National Sheep Association (NSA) to Westminster this week.
Establishing new trade deals is central part of the UK Government's strategy as the country departs from the EU.
However, they are looked on across all business sectors, manufacturing and agricultural produce and it is therefore inevitable that trade-offs between these sectors come into play.
However the NSA is concerned that the best interests of the UK's sheep industry might be traded off in return for gains in other sectors such as finance, IT and manufacturing.
The organisation's chief executive Phil Stocker gave evidence at an International Trade Select committee on Wednesday.
During the meeting he said: "For our sheep farming sector the trade deals with New Zealand and Australia probably present the biggest risks.
"These two countries along with the UK are the world’s three biggest players in sheepmeat exports – so there are similarities.
"But the difference is that of the three nations, due to the size of our population, the UK is the only one that also imports significant volumes of sheepmeat.
"A free trade deal with either of these countries for sheepmeat simply means one-way trade.
"At a time when our established trade with the EU is under threat, a trade that takes 35 to 40% of all UK sheepmeat produced – and totalling 96% of the total UK sheepmeat exports – we must be aware that we could suddenly have little choice but to be more reliant on our domestic market.
"So, to be discussing any increase in access or liberalisation of trade between us and the two largest sheepmeat exporting nations can only cause concern within our industry."
In terms of trade with the rest of the world, the NSA is clear that any new trade deals must uphold the values and high standards of British farmers and consumers.
Mr Stocker said: "The future of our sheep industry, with all its social, economic and environmental outcomes, should not be put at risk in any attempt to secure a trade agreement."
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