Harrogate district farmers fear cheap Australian meat imports

Livestock farmers in the district have expressed concerns over the Australian trade deal and its potential to flood the UK market with cheaper, lower quality produce.

On Tuesday Boris Johnson announced that a new trade deal had been struck up between Australia. It will make it easier and cheaper for Australians to export meat to the UK.

Tim Weatherhead, a Ripon farmer and Vice Chair of the Yorkshire Young Farmers, said;

“The main concern is definitely them undercutting us on standards; we have higher standards of rearing, medicine and farming. Things like this don’t always cross the minds of the consumers, they often just go for the cheapest option. But they don’t see what’s going on behind the scenes.”

Australia’s animal welfare laws aren’t as strict as the UK’s. According to the Animal Protection Index, the UK has an animal welfare ranking of B while Australia ranks at D.

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The National Farmers Union published its concerns over welfare practices in Australia which include feeding up to 50,000 cattle at one time and growth hormones which are banned in this country.

Andrew Loftus, a livestock farmer near Masham, shared similar concerns;

“I would be surprised if the government allowed meat containing banned growth hormones to enter the country, but this isn’t the only issue. Meat production standards in the UK are getting tighter and tighter, and there are a whole range of standards which we have which Australia would potentially not be subjected to.

I’m not against free trade deals, in fact I think that competition is good to give consumers a choice – it just has to be fair.”

Boris Johnson assured people that no meat would enter the country containing banned growth hormones.

Other local farmers were concerned about the environmental impact of importing meat from the other side of the world.

Jo and Rob from Blue Coat Farm in Harrogate said:

“Our government’s agenda in this country is for us to farm sustainably, with the environment in mind, so importing meat from the other side of the world would appear to be the polar opposite of this.”

Gov.uk data shows that the Yorkshire and the Humber region is the biggest contributor to the farming industry in the country, and livestock farms account for a third of all its farms.