Farmers fear NZ deal will hit livelihoods

FARMERS have blasted the UK’s new trade deal with New Zealand, warning cheap lamb imports will damage Scottish livelihoods.

The agreement will phase out quotas on lamb, beef and dairy products over 15 years – prompting fears that meat produced at a lower cost than is possible in Britain could flood in.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has warned the deal will have ‘a massive impact’, saying the move has ‘fully liberalised our marketplace’. In a furious reaction, NFU Scotland said the free trade deal offers ‘virtually nothing’ to Scottish farmers, growers and crofters.

The agreement, coupled with the Australian deal signed in June, will see the UK potentially open up its borders to huge volumes of imported food, a significant proportion of which may not have been produced in line with strict UK farming rules, the union said.

An NFUS spokesman said the deal ‘threatens the viability of Scottish farmers and crofters at a time when consumer demand for local, sustainably produced Scottish food and drink is growing. As with the Australian deal, the New Zealand negotiations have been concluded without proper parliamentary scrutiny’.

NFUS president Martin Kennedy said: ‘This latest deal offers virtually nothing to Scottish farmers and crofters in return but risks undermining our valuable lamb, dairy and horticultural sectors by granting access to large volumes of imported goods that could be produced in farming systems not currently permitted here.’

Labour’s shadow international trade spokesman Emily Thornberry told MPs: ‘This deal will lead to reductions in growth and jobs in the UK farming sector because, as the scoping paper says, and I quote, “New Zealand’s producers may be able to supply UK retailers at lower cost relative to domestic producers”.’

But International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan replied: ‘We will never compromise food standards for food coming into the UK.’

The deal will see tariffs of up to 10 per cent removed on UK exports and make it easier for Britons to live and work in New Zealand.

New Zealand products such as manuka honey will be cheaper to buy here, while tariffs of up to 20p per bottle will be removed from wines such as Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.

‘Supply retailers at lower cost’