Put our farmers first ahead of trade deal

THE pandemic, for understandable reasons, has stolen the thunder from Brexit for the last year and more.

But the concerns created by our collective decision to leave the EU remain as tangible as ever.

The prospect of a free trade deal between the UK and Australia is causing serious worry to Welsh farmers, who believe their livelihoods could be ruined if they are undercut by cheaper imports from the other side of the world.

All the indications suggest there is major disagreement within the UK Government about the merits of any such deal.

Had it been purely Welsh farmers that stood to lose out, the matter would not have been so controversial.

But the fact that a deal could impact negatively on farmers in Tory English shires has given some UK Ministers pause for thought.

There were always going to be problems as a result of our leaving the EU.

Business links built up with EU countries over decades were disrupted when we left the single market and customs union.

New bureaucratic hurdles that didn’t have to be considered before now undermine what was a free-flowing trading relationship.

This has been particularly harmful to our agricultural sector, which relies on the ability to move perishable food products without hindrance.

The idea that tariff-free imports could be allowed of Australian products that don’t have the same rigorously high standards as British goods creates further worry for our farmers, who desperately need a break.

During the referendum campaign in 2016, many farmers in Wales as well as elsewhere in the UK voted for Brexit.

They appear to have believed that they would be better off without the need to conform to EU “red tape” in order to access farming subsidies that helped keep their businesses afloat.

With the uncertainty that faces their sector now, there must be many who regret voting the way they did.

But recriminations will not provide Wales or the rest of the UK with a prosperous and sustainable farming industry for the long term, which must be the aim.

What must be hoped is that before UK Ministers make any kind of trade deal with Australia, they consider the economic implications for those we rely on for so much of what we eat.