Yahoo News Michael Gove admits 'grim and inescapable' reality of no-deal Brexit for farmers
Michael Gove has outlined the ‘grim, inescapable’ reality facing farms under a no-deal Brexit.
Speaking at the Oxford Farmers Conference, The environment secretary stressed the importance of Theresa May’s Brexit deal for the agricultural industry.
He warned that, if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal, in place farmers will be faced with potentially new duties on beef and lamb that could put producers out of business, as well as a trade tariff of 11%.
Mr Gove said in a no-deal scenario, exports to the EU from the UK could face huge tariffs, with beef exports potentially being hit by a 65% duty, and lamb exports suffering a 46% charge, which could push up the costs for businesses, putting some producers out of business – and leading to an increase in food prices.
“Nobody can be blithe or blasé” about the impact on farmers, Mr Gove warned.
While he said a nation as adaptable, resilient and creative as the UK would flourish over time even without a deal, “the turbulence which will be generated by our departure without a deal would be considerable”.
Mr Gove added: “It would hit worst those who are our smaller farmers and farm businesses.”
He said tariffs, border checks and labour pressures would all add to costs for food producers.
“Nobody can be blithe or blase about the real impacts on food producers in this country of leaving without the deal,” he told the conference.
While Mr Gove flagged up the challenges that would face farmers and the food industry exporting their products, he played down the risk of consumers facing shortages on supermarket shelves.
“We are doing everything possible to ensure that when it comes imports both of food and veterinary medicines that we can maintain continuity as effectively as possible,” he said.
“We’ve taken steps to ensure a continuity approach. There shouldn’t be a problem with food coming into the country.”
He said leaving the EU would rejuvenate the UK’s democracy, make power more accountable and allow the UK to escape from the “bureaucratic straitjacket” of Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy, which currently controls farm regulation and the subsidy system.
National Farmers’ Union president Minette Batters said that, less than 90 days away from Brexit, there was still “enormous uncertainty” about the future and how domestic food production would fare.
She said: “Food is one of the fundamentals of life.
“Its importance cannot be understated.
“A government that fails to deliver a Brexit that gets this right will fail us all.
“It is crucial that government engages with our industry to deliver a sustainable, competitive and profitable British farming sector for generations to come.”
The NFU warns that British agriculture could face huge disruption as a result of not being able to export agricultural products to the EU if its role as an exporter has not been re-approved by Brussels by March 29.
The lamb industry could be particularly hit as 31% of its produce was exported in 2017.
In a no-deal scenario, exports to the EU from the UK could face huge tariffs, with beef potentially seeing a 65% duty, and lamb suffering 46%, which could push up the costs for businesses.
Imports could also be affected, with severe delays at ports of essential items such as veterinary medicines, fertilisers, feed and machinery parts.
Quizzed on whether the £3.2 billion the UK’s farmers receive in funding through the EU’s subsidy scheme was under threat, Mr Gove insisted it was not.
He said the money was guaranteed until the end of this Parliament, and that the case needed to be made for more investment, if farmers embraced reform in the sector and the value of public goods could be demonstrated.
Looking beyond Brexit, Mr Gove said the world is facing a fourth agricultural revolution, with new technology from gene editing to artificial intelligence, robotics and data analytics to reduce costs and improve yields.
