By Denis Sheehan MIH: Farmers warn of impact from increased beef imports.
Farmers are warning that allowing high-carbon Mexican beef imports into the UK will damage UK farms at further cost of the environment.
The warnings follow Farming Minister Mark Spencer attending the National Farmers’ Union conference in Birmingham this week, where farmers questioned him directly. During an address to the conference Spenser told farmers that a new trade deal with Mexico could include increased imports of ‘the high-carbon meat’. The ‘high-carbon meat’ label has been informally attached to a country beset by tropical deforestation.
Spenser attempted to rationalise the deal to his audience saying: “We have to be fair to everyone, we can’t say we will sell milk to you but we won’t buy your beef.”
In reply NFU president, Minette Batters, said: “I am very concerned about links to deforestation. From Mexico our lines are pretty tough on this having given away so much on beef to Australia and New Zealand. We want the government to take a very, very firm line on further imports of beef.
“Environmental impacts are why beef was a sensitive sector, both in New Zealand and in Australia. And now in Mexico. And we want them now to really show that they are keeping their promises of not undermining farmers and trade deals. We don’t want to see further imports of beef.”
UK Farmers are being hit hard by the increases in energy, fuel, fertiliser, and animal feed costs. They also voice concerns over weak post-Brexit border controls threatening the import animal diseases, as well as a threat of an influx of cheap food from international competitors with lower standards, from pollitically motivated trade deals that look set to disadvantage UK farmers.
A lack of people to do the countless jobs essential to farming in the UK was put to Spenser as yet another barrier to the sustainability of UK farms as viable businesses. Spenser told the conference: “We have made an initial 45,000 visas available for seasonal workers to travel to the UK for up to six months, that’s 15,000 more than last year, with the possibility of 10,000 more, if we can show that they’re needed, and if we are able to look after those people properly while they’re here, give them a minimum of 32 hours of work every week, and pay them at least the national living wage, of £10.42 an hour.”
UK farming is the main supply chain for the UK hospitality and catering industry and all sectors within it. It is therefore inevitable that costs incurred by UK farms will be passed onto foodservice businesses, already struggling to cope with high levels of food inflation.
The sustainability debate around the import of meats from ‘new’ trade deals rages on, and can sometimes open new ways of considering what’s really best from a holistic viewpoint. As we recently discovered following the Department for International Trade requesting the right to reply to the recent article – Minister of State for International Trade backs importing NZ lamb as better for the environment.
It does seem that Brexit has delivered little else other than creating problems we didn’t have before its emergence, and continues to see main sectors of our economy contract.