Members of NFU Cymru’s Welsh Council have reaffirmed the Union’s stance that a ‘No deal’ Brexit would be devastating for farmers in Wales.
NFU Cymru President John Davies said: “Ever since the European Referendum result, NFU Cymru has been crystal clear that a ‘No deal’ Brexit would be devastating for Welsh agriculture and that stance has never changed. We arrived at this position after extensive consultation with members across the country; farmers the length and breadth of Wales, regardless of whether they voted Leave or Remain, recognise that a ‘No deal’ Brexit would be extremely harmful to our industry.
“Around a third of our lamb crop is exported each year, with 90% of that going to the EU. If our worst fears were realised and we were to crash out of the EU and forced to trade on WTO terms, our exports of lamb would face an effective tariff rate of 46%, while for beef effective rates are much higher at anything between 48 and 84% according to the cut. Faced with such tariffs, our farmers simply couldn’t compete.
“We are some 66 days away from crashing out of Europe and as the clock ticks down the prospect of a ‘No deal’ Brexit is, unfortunately, becoming more and more of a possibility. The time has come for our politicians to put their differences aside and ensure that a deal can be struck with the EU that is in the best interests of the country. Welsh farmers have nothing to gain and everything to lose from this worrying scenario.”