A free trade proposal between the UK and Australia has caused alarm among National Sheep Association members who fear a further increase in foreign lamb products.
Australia currently has a quota to export just under 20,000 tonnes of sheep meat to the EU, which it fulfills every year.
With an annual production of more than 700,000 tonnes, the country is very keen to open up more trade opportunities and is seizing on Brexit as an opportunity to renegotiate its EU quota.
But Phil Stocker, National Sheep Association Chief Executive, says a trade agreement would send a larger amount of sheep meat to UK retailers when the market is 'already suffering.'
"NSA understands Australia has been pushing to increase its EU quota for many years now, so there is no doubt it would send larger amounts of sheep meat to Europe and the UK given the opportunity," Mr Stocker said.
"The UK sheep sector is already suffering unacceptably high levels of imports of New Zealand lamb, much of which is sourced by retailers at times of the year when UK product is in plentiful supply."
'UK domestic market should be grown'
The NSA said the UK needed to be keen to see an outcome to Brexit whereby tighter controls on New Zealand lamb were put in place.
They said a situation allowing new Australian products to be imported into UK retailers would make matters worse.
"Recent figures from Meat and Livestock Australia show the country produced 516,366 tonnes of lamb and 196,040 tonnes of mutton in 2015/16, exporting 56% of total lamb production (worth $1.78 billion) and 91% of mutton production ($700 million). The main destinations were the Middle East, USA and China.
Mr Stocker continues: "The UK is currently an importer and exporter of lamb, which helps balance supply and demand through the year and exploits ideal sheep producing conditions in the UK.
"However, NSA believes more should be done to grow the UK domestic market and increase self-sufficiency in lamb production and consumption – especially as we do not know what access we will have to EU markets in the future.
"We currently export around 36% of UK lamb, with France and the rest of the EU taking the majority of this. A priority for our sector is negotiating a trade deal with the EU post-Brexit.
"A free trade deal with Australia or New Zealand may be beneficial for some UK industries but could have a catastrophic effect on UK sheep farmers and we cannot sit back and be sacrificed for the benefit of others.
"Given the fundamental role our sheep sector has in maintaining the rural environment, landscape and community in the UK, we cannot afford to be overlooked in crucial trade negotiations.
"We encourage the UK Government to work hard on these deals, but not to rush into agreements without considering the wider consequences."
