Government response to Australia meat export barrier is “disappointing”- BMPA
The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) has expressed disappointment with Government response to its letter regarding Australian meat exports.
The organisation said that it had recently written to Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch MP regarding meat export opportunities to Australia. The letter asked Badenoch to address the news that as part of the Border Target Operating Model, the UK (which cannot export beef or sheep meat to Australia without a protracted approval process) requires no health certificate for Australian lamb exports and needs only a simplified health certificate for Australian beef exports.
It also highlighted that the UK had granted these export measures “without requiring that Australia go through any sort of country or site approval process and without any attempt at trying to secure reciprocity”.
In the letter, BMPA urged Government to request that Australia reciprocates and allows the import of UK beef and lamb without preconditions, saying: “We feel UK farmers would be deeply concerned if it emerged that we are prepared to import Australian meat and meat products without restriction but are unable to export to that market despite there being an FTA.”
Rather than receiving a reply from Badenoch, Farming Minister Mark Spencer issued a response.
BMPA said: “So, we were disappointed to receive a reply that failed to take seriously the issues we’d raised, and which came from a completely different department that is not responsible for signing trade deals. Instead of taking on our industry’s concerns, Mrs Badenoch had punted them to the Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries.
“The reply reminded us of the point we’ve been raising, that ‘market access negotiations to agree an EHC (Export Health Certificate) with a third country take an average of three to five years’.