A message of hope and resilience for the new year

THE Welsh red meat industry must show the “greatest resilience, agility and adaptability” in what is likely to be a volatile 12 months that will bring both new hope and new challenges, the chairman of Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) Dai Davies urged in his New Year address.

Mr Davies said 2016 had brought the most dramatic political change he had seen in his career and would shape the red meat industry and Welsh way of life for decades to come.

In his final New Year message before retiring from his industry leadership role in April, Mr Davies reiterated his call for a “free and unfettered” trade deal to be negotiated with Europe as part of the Brexit settlement, and for the future of the Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef brands’ crucial PGI designation to be confirmed.

“I make no apologies for continuing to emphasise just how important European trade is to our industry or repeating the crucial message that Welsh lamb, in particular, is very highly dependent on European exports,” he said.

“Around a third of the Welsh lamb flock is consumed ‘tarifffree’ inside the EU. It’s vital that any post-Brexit deal protects our access to these countries and doesn’t allow for more cheap imports to the UK market.”

Mr Davies said that it was now a year since the red meat levy boards for Wales, England and Scotland had reached agreement on a fairer distribution of funds, and demanded that 2017 be the year when these proposals were put into action.

“Because of the way the industry is structured, about £1m a year is unfairly lost to Wales. This is money that we and our stakeholders could use here in Wales to invest in and develop the industry in the post-Brexit climate, help farmers to produce cost-effectively and promote our premium homegrown lamb, beef and pork products with the specialist talents that we have developed here at HCC and in Wales in recent years.

“If there’s one thing I would like to see achieved before I step down after six years as chairman, it’s a levy system which is fair to Wales and the unqualified handing over of the lost £1m-plus per year for us to spend strategically and cost-effectively here,” he said.

Mr Davies noted the industry’s successes in the past year in developing new markets and products and in working towards a more efficient red meat sector which would benefit processors, farmers and the environment.

“Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen increased commitment to home-produced meat in the multiple retail sector at home, as well as important growth in emerging markets such as Denmark, Canada and Hong Kong.”