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We are at the mercy of being undercut, Ed tells Huff Post

8th Aug 2019 / By Alistair Driver

NPA senior policy adviser Ed Barker is quoted in the Huffington Post today explaining why the pig sector is concerned about the prospect of a Brexit no deal. 

EdBarkerNPAThe article notes that the UK currently exports around 335,000 tonnes of pork a year, with just over half of that to the EU market, with a value of around £200 million.

Tariffs of between 45p/kg and 150p/kg on exports into the EU would be likely to render trade unviable, while lower UK tariffs would expose the UK to cheaper imports from all over the world, often produced to standards not permitted in the UK.

Ed said: “The detail we have is not particularly helpful. We have been told we are at the mercy of being undercut by global exporters.

“The real concern is the introduction of exporting countries to the UK for the first time. We don’t know fully what the outcome will be – but potentially losing the European export market is huge.

“Losing the European export market overnight would be a significant challenge, and would have a knock-on impact on producers and the way in which we can provide products like bacon and sausages.”

You can read the article, entitled 'These Are The Foods You Might Not Be Able To Buy In A No-Deal Brexit Britain' here 

Ed is also quoted on the implications of a Brexit no deal in an analysis article in the latest issue of Pig World, which you can read here

In the article, he says the repeated assurances of politicians that the UK won’t lower its production standards in a US trade deal or under a no-deal could be difficult to enforce in reality.

“Under a no deal we are limited in how we could limit lower-standard imports – for example, we could not prevent products from stall- based production. Meanwhile, to suggest that the likes of the US would happily meet UK baselines standards on its exports is fanciful," he said.