NFU Scotland has briefed Scottish MEP’s about the risks to Scotland’s iconic beef industry of poorly negotiated trade deals.

The European Commission is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with the South American trading bloc Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay). Recent reports are that the European Commission is considering allowing as much as 70,000 to 90,000 tonnes of beef per year to freely enter the European market through the deal.

Scottish farmers and crofters are concerned that South American beef, which is produced at lower standards, will be damaging to the market currently available to Scottish producers.

NFU Scotland Livestock Committee Chairman Charlie Adam, a beef farmer in Aberdeenshire, said: “The idea that the European Commission would consider allowing greater access to South American beef following the ‘rotten meat’ scandal that rocked Brazil earlier this year is absurd, particularly after the recent EU (European Union) food safety audit which found that Brazilian authorities could not guarantee export requirements.

“Beef farmers in Scotland and across the continent are currently facing great uncertainty over the impact that Brexit may have on the market for our beef.  

The European Commission must not treat our excellent food safety and high-quality standards as a bargaining chip simply to rush through a damaging trade deal so they can tick it off the ‘to do’ list.”

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Contact Bob Carruth on 0131 472 4006