fbpx
Print this page
Tuesday, 22 October 2019 10:55

Fingers crossed as Brexit looms

Written by  Peter Burke
Ben O’Brien. Ben O’Brien.

“Let's just say things aren’t getting any clearer.”

That’s the view of Beef + Lamb NZ’s European regional director Ben O’Brien on where things are with Brexit.

He told Rural News he’s confident the NZ meat industry is ready for whatever might happen as the deadline looms for the UK to leave the EU. Brexit is scheduled to occur on October 31 – Halloween.

“I think we had a dress rehearsal on March 29 – the day Britain was originally scheduled to the leave – and my fingers are crossed in my office in Brussels that things will work smoothly without too much disruption,” O’Brien said.

“We are not expecting too much disruption at the ports and also the companies will manage their ends to some extent. Some may take the view that they will avoid the first few weeks of Brexit to give them more certainty of getting product through customs.” 

O’Brien believes Brexit is likely to happen at the end of October.

He says lamb consumption and the sale of lamb to the EU and UK have declined, with NZ filling just over two thirds of its quota there.

“We are seeing declining consumption overall and, of course, we are seeing a lot less product going into the EU, largely due to the opportunities for NZ in China. That is a good situation for us and for the European sheep meat producers. It means we are sending our higher quality cuts and our lesser cuts are going to other markets.” 

He says if Brexit had occurred ten years ago, when NZ was much more reliant on the EU market, the situation would have been different. 

In the past, Irish sheep farmers have protested about NZ lamb exports to Europe. But O’Brien points out that the Irish sheep industry is small – average flock size is about 100 breeding ewes – and most sheep farmers have jobs off farm. 

He says NZ exports complement Irish and UK sheep farmers’ exports and ensure lamb is on supermarket shelves all the time.

Once Brexit is settled, the focus for NZ will shift to concluding an FTA with the EU. 

Negotiations are already well advanced, but the change in the shape of the EU parliament with strong green and conservative elements and a smaller centrist grouping may change that. 

O’Brien says the new EU parliament may be a bit more protectionist.

“But I think there is strong support at the political level – on both sides – and that a FTA between NZ and the EU is not just about trade, it’s about a whole lot of other things as well.”

More like this

Mission impossible

Agriculture and Trade Minister Damien O'Connor is off to Europe soon to try and breathe some life into free trade talks between NZ and the UK, and NZ and the European Union.

Featured

Sheep drench resistance costly

Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.

Dairy sheep and goat turmoil

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Hurry up and slow down!

OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.

National

Knowing bugs means fewer drugs

A mastitis management company claims to deliver the fastest and most accurate mastitis testing available at scale for New Zealand…

Machinery & Products

AGTEK and ARGO part ways

After 12 years of representing the Landini and McCormick brands in New Zealand, Bay of Plenty-based AGTEK and the brands’…

100 years of Farmall Tractors

Returning after an enforced break, the Wheat and Wheels Rally will take place on the Lauriston -Barhill Road, North-East of…

JD unveils its latest beast

John Deere has unveiled its most powerful tractor ever, with the launch of the all new 9RX Series Tractor line-up…

Biggest Quadtrac coming to NZ!

In the biggest announcement that Case IH Australia/New Zealand has made around its tractor range, its biggest tractor is about…