'EU farmers should not face subsidy cuts due to Brexit': Germany voices concerns over lack of UK plan

Joachim Rukwied, the president of the German farming association DBV, has raised concerns over the impact of Brexit on agriculture
Joachim Rukwied, the president of the German farming association DBV, has raised concerns over the impact of Brexit on agriculture

Germany's farming association has voiced concerns about the lack of plans to deal with the impact of Brexit on the EU's CAP.

Brexit could have a major impact on funding of the EU's farming support scheme, the common agricultural policy (CAP), because Britain is a huge net contributor to EU finances, Joachim Rukwied, the president of the German farming association DBV, said.

"The discussion about the implications of Brexit on the CAP has not yet taken place," Rukwied told Reuters. He said farmers should not face cuts to their EU support payments because of Brexit.

A major challenge will be creating a satisfactory trading relationship with Britain after Brexit, he said.

Farming minister George Eustice and Defra Secretary Andrea Leadsom has sought to reassure the British agricultural sector, saying it is the government's intention to maintain as low tariffs as possible, and zero tariffs where it can.

Big German food exports

German farmers are worried about the status of big German food exports to Britain which totalled about 4.8 billion euros (4.19 billion pounds) in 2015 or about 6 percent of German food exports. Sales include German meat, milk, grains, fruit and vegetables.

Britain exported 1.4 billion euros of farm produce to Germany in 2015.

"We have a surplus in trade with food from Germany to the United Kingdom of 3.4 billion euros," he said. "I cannot see that any progress has been made on this issue in the United Kingdom."

Britain could be involved in a food free trade deal with the EU after Brexit, German Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt told Reuters in July.

The loss of sales to Russia of German milk, pork, fruit and vegetables had caused downward price pressure on the country.