The British meat industry is heading for no-clue Brexit
Brexit keeps stirring uncertainty among players in the UK meat industry and no one can point out what is going to happen after 29 March. "With just 30 working days left until the UK leaves the EU, we still do not know what the UK government’s tariff policy will be. Meat faces the highest average tariff rate of any product and imports are vital for the UK’s food security & stable consumer price," tweeted the International Meat Trade Association (IMTA).
The UK is relying upon 1.5 million tonnes of meat imported from the EU every year and meat also faces the highest average tariff of any product under the WTO rules.
Food prices are going to explode if British importers are going to apply the tariffs for beef, lamb, pork and poultry. There is an average tariff of 62% for beef, one of 57% for lamb, 32% for pork and 31% for poultry (Ad Valorem equivalents), according to the British meat traders.
Last year, NFU President Minette Batters warned the British government that the country could survive on its own food only 7 months and one week. The country's self-sufficiency in food has dropped from 74% in 1987 to 60% in 2017, according to statistics issued by DEFRA.
Ironically, the UK is a net exporter of meat but relies on imports of bacon and poultry meat. The same awkward situation is to be found in sectors such as dairy and egg, with Britain exporting more milk and cream products than it produces, and imports almost three times as much cheese as it exports and almost twice as many eggs than its own production.
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