Hill Farming

(asked on 4th June 2019) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the effect will be on upland sheep farmers of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.


Answered by
Robert Goodwill Portrait
Robert Goodwill
This question was answered on 10th June 2019

The Government recognises the particular concerns of the sheep sector in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal as over 30% of UK sheepmeat production is exported to our near neighbours in the EU. Leaving the EU without a deal at the end of October would reduce returns for all sheep producers with the impact likely to be greater in the upland areas given the later pattern of marketing from these regions.

This is why it is important to reach an agreement on our withdrawal from the EU. However, as any responsible Government would, we are also preparing for the possibility of ‘no deal’ and we are in close contact with representatives of the sheep sector across the UK regarding contingency plans to minimise disruption for the sector.

Specific guidance for the food and drink sector is published on gov.uk. This includes advice for importers and exporters of animal products, food labelling, tariffs, data protection and more. Furthermore, alongside the publication of technical notices, we continue to work closely with farmers, businesses and trade associations across the food and drink sector to keep them informed of EU departure preparations.

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