Latest news with #agrifoods
The Guardian
30-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
UK farmers warn against including lower-welfare chicken in Gulf trade deal
An imminent trade deal with Gulf states including Saudi Arabia could have a destructive impact for UK farmers, industry figures have warned, suggesting that any deal to import chicken would involve far lower welfare standards in the Gulf than British farmers must adhere to. The £1.6bn deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – is expected to be signed soon, though the conclusion may be delayed until after Eid al-Adha in early June. Industry figures said the deal could include uncapped access for chickens if the imports met hygiene standards, which is critical because of the agrifoods deal the UK hopes to seal with the EU in the coming months. But those standards do not cover welfare, sparking alarm among farmers who have recently had to meet new, higher standards under British law. The National Farmers' Union president, Tom Bradshaw, said if such a deal was done it would 'mark a clear betrayal of the government's own promises to uphold our high animal welfare, environmental and food safety standards, standards which are globally renowned and driven by consumer demand. 'For example, British poultry farmers are continuing to improve welfare standards by lowering the number of birds per flock. They must not be undercut by imports produced in ways that would be illegal here. I'm not sure how many times we have to repeat it – we must not sign any deal that undermines UK farming. The public won't accept it, and neither will British farmers.' Bradshaw said the prime minister, Keir Starmer, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, and the environment secretary, Steve Reed, all committed to protecting farmers from being undercut by low standards and low welfare in trade deals. 'So we expect the government to stand its ground and ensure that poultry products produced in ways that fail to meet our own production standards remain excluded from market access concessions within this deal,' he said. The UK has previously promised the deal would not compromise environmental, public health, animal welfare and food standards. UK farming is governed by relatively strict animal welfare laws, which differ significantly from GCC countries, including housing density, slaughter methods and living conditions. Farmers have minimum standards to reach in terms of space for birds to live in, and there is mandatory pre-slaughter stunning in most cases. In the six Gulf countries involved in the deal, poultry must be slaughtered according to halal principles, though stunning is sometimes used. Poultry are often raised in intensive indoor systems, especially given the harsh heat. The UK has some of the strictest standards for chicken space in the world. Poultry farmers must give their flock a minimum of 750 cm squared of space per bird, and 600 cm squared must be usable. This is stricter than EU standards, which require the same space per bird but do not specify the amount that must be usable. Chickens are also required to be given enriched areas, with things they can peck such as hay, string or mineral blocks, and perches to sit on. The Gulf states give less than half the space per bird than in the UK, at 300cm squared, and there is no limit on the number of birds raised in one house. Chickens in the Gulf are raised to halal standards and are subjected to non-stunned slaughter. This is legal, but less common, in the UK. The deal, which has been led by the trade minister Douglas Alexander, is likely to be particularly beneficial for the car industry and financial services, though estimates suggest a free trade agreement would be worth less than 1% of GDP by 2035. Trade with the six-member bloc is worth about £59bn a year, according to UK government estimates, as the UK's seventh-largest export market, with a trade deal expected to increase trade by about 16%. The deal has caused alarm among human rights groups about the lack of provisions for improving rights in the region.
The Guardian
19-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Starmer denies claim ‘win-win' UK-EU deal has sold out fishing sector
Keir Starmer has rejected claims he has sold out the fishing sector, saying the deal between the UK and the EU is 'good for fishing'. The last-minute agreement was reached early on Monday morning and will remove checks on agrifoods, add £9bn to the UK economy and lower food prices, according to No 10. The trade-off for the deal was fishing access and rights for an additional 12 years – more than the UK had offered – which is likely to lead to claims of betrayal from the industry
The Guardian
19-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Deal with EU will make food cheaper and add £9bn to UK economy, says No 10
A deal clinched between the UK and EU to remove checks on agrifoods will add £9bn to the UK economy and lower food prices, No 10 has said, as the last-minute agreement was clinched early on Monday morning. The deal – which will grant EU fishers access to British waters for an additional 12 years – will remove checks on a significant number of food products as well as a deeper defence partnership and agreements on carbon taxes. The UK said the deal would make 'food cheaper, slash red tape, open up access to the EU market'. But the trade-off for the deal was fishing access and rights for an additional 12 years – more than the UK had offered – which is likely to lead to cries of betrayal from the industry. Officials have hit back at the criticism, arguing that the food standards deal will have huge benefit for fish and seafood exports. The two sides will also begin talks for a 'youth experience scheme', first reported in the Guardian, which could allow young people to work and travel freely in Europe again and mirror existing schemes the UK has with countries such as Australia and New Zealand. The UK said it would be 'capped and time-limited', though there is no agreement yet from the EU on the details. Keir Starmer and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, shook hands on the reset deal at Lancaster House just hours after negotiators finished the final three texts. 'It's time to look forward. To move on from the stale old debates and political fights to find common sense, practical solutions which get the best for the British people,' Starmer said. 'We're ready to work with partners if it means we can improve people's lives here at home. 'So that's what this deal is all about – facing out into the world once again, in the great tradition of this nation. Building the relationships we choose, with the partners we choose, and closing deals in the national interest. Because that is what independent, sovereign nations do.' Central to the agreement is the new agrifoods deal, known as an SPS agreement, which removes red tape on food and drink exports, removing some routine checks on animal and plant products completely. In return, the UK will accept some dynamic alignment on EU food standards and a role for the European court of justice in policing the deal. The deal will not be time-limited, as had originally been demanded by the EU. It was for this that the UK made a major concession for a longer-term deal on fishing, extending the current access for European fishing to UK waters until 2038, having originally offered until 2030. The original trade deal with the EU had suggested there would be annual negotiations from 2026, but the government said this fixed deal would give certainty. A UK government official said the deal for the UK fishing industry was about 'protecting their rights and long-term security instead of the merry-go-round of yearly renegotiations that would never plausibly see EU boats leave UK waters'. The government said it would put £360m of modernisation support back into coastal communities as part of the deal, a tacit acknowledgment of the concession. But UK officials said the SPS deal would be a major win for British consumers and should lead to lower food prices and more choice in the supermarkets. It will mean certain products are allowed to be sold in the EU for the first time since Brexit, such as some burgers and sausages, after the 21% drop in exports and 7% drop in imports seen since Brexit. Another agreement reached before the Lancaster House summit will be on linking emissions trading, which the UK said would avoid businesses being hit by the EU's carbon tax due to come in next year. The deal also protects British steel imports from new EU tariffs through a bespoke arrangement, saving about £25m a year. British holidaymakers will also be able to use European gates at airports, ending long holiday queues to use the gates for non-European citizens, and pet passports will be introduced to eliminate the need for animal health checks on each trip. The UK will also now enter formal talks on a number of key topics, including a youth mobility deal, to grant visas for younger Britons and Europeans as well as re-entry to the Erasmus scheme. There will be future talks, too, on access to the EU facial recognition data, a key ask of Starmer as a way of tackling cross-border crime and people-trafficking gangs. But there will be no immediate entry for the UK to the EU's €150bn defence fund to allow UK arms companies to bid for contracts – though the UK said the deal struck on Monday would pave the way for that to happen in the coming months. The UK's chief negotiator, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the cabinet office minister, said: 'Today is a historic day, marking the opening of a new chapter in our relationship with the EU that delivers for working people across the UK. 'Since the start of these negotiations, we have worked for a deal to make the British people safer, more secure and more prosperous. Our new UK-EU Strategic Partnership achieves all three objectives. It delivers on jobs, bills and borders. 'Today is a day of delivery. Britain is back on the world stage with a government in the service of working people.'
