Opinions are split amongst representatives from the UK agricultural and food industries and the Trade and Agricultural Committee (TAC) on whether the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the UK and Australia will have a positive impact on the industries as a whole.

The International Trade Committee heard evidence this week from the Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) and a range of representatives from the UK agriculture, food and drink sector’s in order to examine what the potential impact of the FTA will be.

The International Trade Committee heard from Professor Lorand Bartels, MBE, the chairman of the Trade and Agriculture Committee (TAC) on its assessment of the future trade deal. It also heard from a panel of producers and others involved in the agri-food industry on their predictions for how the deal will impact the UK industry. Commenting on the hearing, the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) said it noticed a distinct split in opinions.

Professor Bartels said the TAC concluded that: “Ultimately the FTA does not make life difficult for UK agricultural producers in the way that was very much feared” and that “there isn’t all that much to worry about”, either surrounding standards or competition.

However, the panel pointed to the weakness of the built-in ‘safeguards’ which open the door to much higher volumes of more cheaply produced products in the not too distant future.