PRESS RELEASE – December 2018
Ref: Seua21
As a direct result of its topography and its agro-industries, the Suffolk landscape is as iconic as it is unique, says the Suffolk EU Alliance.
But according to alliance Chair Julia Ewart there are Brexit traps set to ensnare the unwary: “With Brexit looming we must consider how this landscape will change once our indigenous agri-industries are swept away in the wake of surplus dumping of cheap farm produce, most notably from America. The US agricultural department has already held preliminary Free Trade Agreement meetings with our Ministry of Agriculture. Particularly worrying is Mr Gove’s vision – he puts great emphasis on the environment- which is good – but there’s scant mention of commercial agriculture survival.”
According to the alliance, if agriculture is plunged into decline through imports of cheap alternatives then it follows that the land will become devalued. As UK agricultural independence withers alternative uses will be found for the land. Housing is an obvious use, and then there’s factory farms and industrial sprawl.
Our great British landscape:
Julia Ewart: “Our rural landscape is one of the finest in Europe. Fly into Gatwick or Stansted and as far as you can see there’s a patchwork of working fields, hedgerows and farm buildings. Stunningly beautiful; it employs people and puts delicious products on our plates.”
But what will happen when the existing subsidies end?
Ewart: “Michael Gove has confirmed this will happen in 2022. In a ‘no deal’ scenario EU farm subsidies to the UK will cease. Devoid of a level playing field our exports will become uncompetitive in our traditional European market. Meanwhile, the remaining 27 European countries will continue to benefit from subsidies, as indeed will the Americans. The UK will, be alone without subsidies. Currently over 90% of Welsh exports go to mainland Europe. Where is that expected to go? There will be hardship and redundancies.
“Consider also the amazing pig farming industry right here in Suffolk. Our farmers uphold the highest animal welfare standards and, as a result, the products they put into our butchers shops and delicatessens are second to none. All this has been achieved while we’ve been within the EU, and all is threatened by cheap imports from America. There will inevitably be a knock-on deficit to the exchequer too”, she added.
US farm subsidies:
Julia Ewart: “Frequently overlooked is that US agriculture is already more heavily subsidised than European farming. US products can therefore under-cut our own. This explains why the desperate UK government – desperate to make a deal – is under pressure from Donald Trump to sign up, and soon. Trump is not supporting Mrs May’s deal because he wants us more vulnerable, more compliant, more willing to accept whatever surpluses he offers.
So, is the writing on the wall for British agriculture?
Ewart: “Well, we can welcome the cheap flavourless, hormone and anti-biotic injected meat products, drenched in chlorine and fed on animal excrement, if that’s really what we want. Or do we feel that our Suffolk farmers and with their vastly superior products and animal welfare standards should be supported? We do.
“We British – the English particularly – like to present ourselves as the world’s consumer. ‘They need us more than we need them’ we brag. Well, if nothing else it’s a boast of monstrous impotence. It’s also one that baffles most mainland Europeans who would feel a very different emotion if put in that position – embarrassment.”
So, what will become of our neglected farmland, our de-valued landscape?
Ewart: “Well, we don’t have to spell that out, says the Suffolk EU Alliance. It’ll be up for sale and cheap as chips, particularly if we have a ‘no deal’ Brexit. Amusingly, it’s the big farmers that usually cry ‘fake’ and ‘fear’ but it’s the little guys that are going to go first, and there are plenty of those in East Anglia”, she added.
(Ends)
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Further information: Julia Ewart email: suffolkeu@gmail.com
Press relations contact: Richard Hare c/o suffolkeu@gmail.com