Post-Brexit trade deal with Australia drives down British beef prices, threatening UK farming

Fiona Harvey

2h ago· 10 min readenNews

Summary

The article examines how post-Brexit trade deals, particularly one with Australia, are devastating British farmers. Liz Webster, a Wiltshire farmer, reports losing approximately £400 per beef animal due to a flood of cheaper Australian imports. This comes at a time when input costs (feed, energy, fertiliser) are soaring. The piece warns that home-grown British food may become a niche luxury product for the wealthy as domestic farmers' incomes plummet, raising broader questions about the UK's food security and agricultural sovereignty after leaving the EU.

Source

bskyPost-Brexit trade deal with Australia drives down British beef prices, threatening UK farmingtheguardian.com

Key quotes

· 3 pulled

About £400 per animal has been wiped off the price she can get for her beef cattle, a hefty blow at a time when all the inputs – feed, energy, fertiliser – are going through the roof.

Home-grown food may become a niche product for the wealthy in our supermarkets as British farmers' incomes plummet

The fall in price, on livestock that typically fetch £2,000 to £3,000 per animal, is the result of a flood of cheaper meat arriving from Australia

Snippet from the RSS feed

Home-grown food may become a niche product for the wealthy in our supermarkets as British farmers’ incomes plummet

You might also wanna read

Brexit's complex impact on the UK art market, a decade later

A decade after the UK's 2016 Brexit vote, the article examines its impact on the British art market. Initial concerns about losing the UK's