The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) has warned against ‘tearing up’ any UK-EU food and agriculture agreement negotiated by the current Government.
Discussions over a UK-EU SPS deal that would many of the trade barriers in place as a result of Brexit are ongoing, and prime minister Andy Burnham has repeatedly made his intentions clear when it comes to forging closer relations with the EU.
The EU remains the industry’s largest and most important export market, with UK red meat exports, including offal, exceeding £2 billion in 2025 according to HMRC.
A comprehensive SPS agreement would remove much of the unnecessary administration associated with that trade, including Export Health Certificates and routine animal and public health border checks on legally traded products entering the EU. It would also provide greater certainty for businesses planning long-term investment, the BMPA said.
However, according to a Financial Times report published on 6 October, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith have both indicated they would scrap an agreement involving dynamic alignment with EU food and agricultural regulations. They are concerned that Britain would become a ‘rule-taker’ from Brussels under the agreement.
However, BMPA chief executive John Powell said the Conservatives’ argument ‘misses a fundamental commercial reality’ and warned that abandoning an SPS agreement would be a ‘serious backwards step’ for the mwat industry.
“Businesses exporting meat to the EU must already comply fully with EU rules and standards, regardless of whether Britain has an SPS agreement,” he said.
“Exporters are therefore already effectively rule-takers. What Brexit added was an expensive extra layer of bureaucracy, certification and border checks simply to prove that compliance. These additional costs bring no commercial benefit and make British meat businesses less competitive.”
“Conservative reticence to keep any SPS deal that the current Government strikes with the EU makes absolutely no commercial or economic sense. It would re-impose the harms inflicted on the British meat industry that Brexit did 10 years ago.”
The FT reports growing concern across the food and drink sector about the prospect of regulations changing repeatedly as different governments take office. Such uncertainty makes it harder for businesses to plan, invest and develop new markets, Mr Powell added.
“For meat processors, the potential benefits of a lasting agreement extend well beyond cutting paperwork. Reduced costs and friction would free up funds for new technology and innovation, improve productivity, help reopen lost markets and support jobs and growth,” he said.
“The question to the Conserviatives is: why would we voluntarily bring back costly barriers that achieve nothing for our exporters?
“The priority should be to secure a comprehensive, lasting SPS agreement that allows British meat businesses to compete, invest and grow, not leave them facing the prospect of another costly reversal.”