Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the price of cattle and sheep products of the UK leaving the EU.

It is in everyone’s interests to secure a good deal with the EU and that is exactly what we are committed to do. The Government recognises the concerns of stakeholders and is determined to get the best deal for the UK in our negotiations to leave the EU, including for our globally recognised beef and sheep sectors.

As any responsible government would, we are preparing for all outcomes including the possibility of no deal. Extensive work to prepare for a ‘no deal’ scenario is under way to ensure the country continues to operate as smoothly as possible from the day we leave.

We are in close contact with the beef and sheep sectors to understand and anticipate the effects on the sector of the UK leaving the EU without a trade deal. Significant work is already underway to ensure that UK exporters can maintain access to EU markets after March 2019. We are conducting rigorous analysis of the full range of UK-EU trade scenarios on UK agriculture (including the beef and sheep sectors) as part of our planning.