Food bills could fall £300 once we leave the EU
BREXIT could save British families hundreds of pounds a year on their food shops by making non-EU produce cheaper to import, a former farming minister said yesterday.
Conservative MP Owen Paterson said economists estimated the average household will benefit by over £300 a year.
Providing shops pass on the savings to shoppers, freeing the UK from the Common External Tariff which the EU levies on imports from outside Europe will slash the price of popular items ranging from New Zealand lamb to Thai prawns.
It will also lead to reductions in products such as bananas and coffee.
The former secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs, added that leaving the bloc would also release Britain’s food producers from the failed Common Agricultural Policy.
Cheaper
Farmers in fertile regions could then grow more and embrace the latest technologies, although those in tougher terrain should still get state support, he said.
“Freed of the dead hand of the EU and by leaving the customs union, we escape the Common External Tariff and every citizen will benefit from cheaper food. A genuine green revolution lies ahead of us.”
Jayne Adye, head of campaign group Get Britain Out, said: “The UK will not be isolated and doesn’t need the EU’s so-called clout.
“Trade deals tailored to our economy are now possible, rather than time-consuming compromises with EU states.”
John Longworth, co-chairman of Leave Means Leave, said Britain could also cut shop prices by doing its own global trade deals, adding: “Brexit will bring huge gains for hardworking British families.”
However, sceptics warn the falling pound has already put up prices and that a so-called hard Brexit would push costs higher as tariffs soared.
FORMER Environment Secretary Owen Paterson’s prediction that leaving the EU will slash food bills will be cheered to the rafters by Brexit supporters. With the Government’s Brexit Bill heading to the House of Lords we can expect to hear plenty from the Remoaners in the Upper House over the coming days so it is a relief to see a respected figure reiterating the arguments that helped to win the referendum.
Mr Paterson is undoubtedly correct. Since the early days of the European project the powerful farming lobby across the continent – most prevalent in France – has made its influence in Brussels tell. Continent-wide rules on trade tariffs and agricultural subsidies have protected farmers but left consumers out of pocket.
This has dismayed food producers from outside the bloc. Indeed, for many nations with which we share longstanding ties this was an economic disaster.
New Zealand provides a case in point. Our close relationship with this country, symbolised by their membership of the Commonwealth, counted for nothing when we agreed to let Brussels set our trade rules.
The subsequent tariffs on lamb imports left us paying more for a Sunday lunch staple and their farmers facing ruination.
This is true for many other countries and many other products. When we rekindle old trade relationships, welcome the best and cheapest imports from across the world and stop spending our taxes on subsidising uncompetitive continental farmers we will all be better off.