91²Ö¿â

UK-Australia trade deal: Minimise disruption and uphold high standards

29 June 2021

The UK and Australia have agreed a trade deal in principle but there is still plenty of details left to negotiate. As the trade talks continue, the NFU is seeking to ensure that British beef and sheep farmers aren’t undercut on the home market. Chief Livestock Adviser John Royle explains our current position and looks at where we need to be in the future.

The Agreement in Principle sets out that in year one, a duty-free quota of 35,000 tonnes of beef and 25,000 tonnes of lamb will be available to Australia. That duty-free quota will get incrementally larger over time. The out of quota tariff will remain at the current level (c. 65%) for the first ten years and then reduce to 20%.

What this all means is that eventually, after fifteen years, the Australians will have unlimited tariff-free access for beef and lamb into the UK.

Work to be done

We are incredibly concerned at the scale of this access that will be granted to the Australians. Whilst we accept that these total volumes have been agreed, how these quotas are managed will have a significant impact on domestic producers, so there is still work to be done.

Australia says it is not looking to flood our market. Still, we know even a relatively small increase in imports can distort and damage our domestic beef and lamb markets. For example, if the UK imported just 7,000 tonnes of sirloin steak, it would replace 20% of the UK prime cattle kill, taking the top straight off our market.

In comparison, if the Australians sent us 7,000 tonnes of lower value beef for manufacturing or mincing, the impact would be much less severe.

Government must play its part

We are lobbying the government to ask that this fifteen-year transition is managed in a way that minimises the disruption to domestic markets and upholds our high standards of food safety, animal welfare and environmental protections. For red meat this means:

  • Tonnages should be expressed as Carcase Weight Equivalent (CWE). This term signifies that an estimate of the carcase weight has been made based on the actual ‘shipped weight’ of the product that is received. The calculation is made through an agreed formula that works out how much material (such as skin, blood and parts removed during evisceration) has been taken off the carcase in processing the product. This is a standard term used in international trade and is the metric by with the existing quotas for Australian lamb are managed.
  • The quotas should be managed by a licence system that ensures robust certification on UK standards, including guarantees on non-hormones and residues. Licenses would help improve market transparency as import volumes can be seen ahead of time.
  • The quota volumes should be spread across the marketing year and allocated into quarters. This would ensure imported product is evenly distributed across the year, recognising the seasonality of our market. This would ensure product does not flood the market at key times of year, such as at Christmas. For lamb, quota should be heavily allocated to the first half of the year and not the latter, when British product is in season.
  • The quotas for beef and lamb should be split between fresh and frozen product. Currently, 25% of Australian beef exported around the world is fresh, and 75% is exported frozen.
  • The quotas should be further split between boneless and bone in product.
  • For the sheep sector, the quotas should be split into lamb and mutton. Currently, 60% of Australian sheep meat is exported as lamb and 40% as mutton. This would reflect the dominance of Australian mutton exports.

If allowed to compete fairly, UK livestock farmers can lead the way in producing safe, affordable and climate-friendly beef and lamb. We have a fantastic product and story to tell and are keen to open up new markets around the world as well as maintaining our existing markets in the EU.

Help promoting our quality product and high standards around the world will be key and government must play its part.

I want to see that continued support for British sourcing from our retailers and food service businesses, by supporting British beef and lamb you can be assured of the quality and high standards of production.

Let’s make sure consumers are putting British meat on their plates.

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