The pig industry has written to Defra Secretary Andrea Leadsom to lay out its Brexit priorities, seeking assurances that a cheap food agenda will not take place.
The National Pig Association is seeking assurances a cheap food agenda will not take priority over the need for the UK to build its self-sufficiency in food.
The association has prepared a Brexit briefing document outlining its position, potential solutions and how government can help on trade, future farm support, animal health and welfare and the availability of labour.
While the NPA says it would welcome opportunities to further build UK export markets, it has warned Mrs Leadsom of the potential pitfalls associated with the sort free trade some prominent figures, including International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, are advocating.
If EU tariffs, which currently add £45 per 100kg to the cost of imports of pig carcases, were significantly reduced in new trade deals, the NPA said it would fear this could open the doors to large volumes of lower standard, imported pigmeat.
'Desire for cheap food'
NPA policy services manager Lizzie Wilson said countries like the US, Canada and Brazil are able to produce pigmeat at a much lower cost because they have lower animal welfare and environmental standards.
"We are absolutely adamant that the government must not put a desire for cheap food ahead of the need to shore up the UK’s self-sufficiency in food, which has already declined alarmingly over the last few decades," Miss Wilson said.
"We do not want to see UK consumers exposed to pigmeat produced to lower standards and we certainly do not want our producers to face unfair import competition."
The NPA is calling for equivalent standards of production, including animal welfare, to be negotiated into any new trade agreements and, if necessary, for UK pigmeat to be granted protected status to control the volume of tariff free imports allowed into the UK.
The NPA is also calling for new post-Brexit agricultural policies to support pig farmers in delivering public goods such as reducing antibiotic usage by improving animal health.
Mrs Wilson said: "We would like to see grant funding and some sort of tax relief available to help with reinvestment in new buildings, equipment and infrastructure.”
