Union meets with PM to discuss Brexit deal
WINTER Fair NFU Cymru officeholders have met with Prime Minister Theresa May to discuss the UK’s Brexit deal to leave the European Union.
NFU Cymru president John Davies and deputy president Aled Jones met with Mrs May at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair in Llanelwedd last week. The meeting featured a wideranging discussion around a number of issues affecting the agricultural industry including the UK’s future trading relationship with the European Union, animal welfare and production standards, as well as putting the foundations in place for a thriving industry for the next generation of young farmers in Wales.
Speaking after the meeting, NFU Cymru president Mr Davies said: “We were grateful for the opportunity to meet with the Prime Minister today to discuss the Brexit deal she has agreed with the European Council.
“During this positive meeting, I commended the fact that the deal she has agreed is as close as possible to the free and frictionless trade conditions for agricultural and food products that we have been lobbying for over the past couple of years.
“I was also keen t o point out that the Royal Welsh Winter Fair is a showcase for some of the best livestock you will see anywhere in the world, and that this event is a symbol of the ambition that exists amongst Welsh farmers to drive this industry forward in the years to come.”
Mr Jones added: “This morning’s meeting also presented an excellent opportunity for us to reiterate to the Prime Minister that a no-deal Brexit scenario would leave Welsh farmers in the nightmare situation of being excluded from our largest export market. Around a third of the Welsh lamb crop is exported and over 90% of this goes to the EU27.
“A no-deal Brexit would essentially price Welsh farmers out of the market – we could not operate effectively when imposed with WTO tariff rates, as well as being subject to the regulatory barriers that come with exporting as a third country.
“We understand that there are still significant political hurdles for the Prime Minister’s Brexit
proposals to clear and if such approval is not secured then NFU Cymru will need to reassess its position.
“In the meantime, we strongly encourage politicians across all parties to put their political differences aside to secure a future that is in the interest of the £7 billion Welsh food and farming sector.”