The RABDF is concerned about a lack of detail in the free trade deal between the UK and Australia as a broad agreement is reached today (15 June).
Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to a UK-Australia free trade deal in meeting with Australian PM Scott Morrison in London this morning. However, despite pleas from the UK agriculture sector, few details are yet to emerge about the impact on the dairy sector and wider agricultural industry.
RABDF chairman Peter Alvis said: “Despite repeated calls by the industry and collaboration of 18 industry bodies working together, we have yet to receive any detail on this agreement.
“Specifically, there is no recognition of animal welfare and environmental standards, net-zero and biodiversity, which is concerning.
“These are all points the government puts increasing pressure on our farmers to meet by imposing high standards, yet there are no details laid out on what standards milk and meat products entering from Australia will have been produced to. There is a huge worry, we could end up with products of lesser quality flooding our supermarket shelves and undermining the hard work of our farmers.
“There is also no information on the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, and this is something that needs addressing going forward,” he said.
The RABDF along with many other industry bodies are now calling on the Government to share more detail about the agreement to ensure the final stages of the negotiations meet the needs of UK farmers.