Nearly 3,000 farming, forestry and fishing businesses have shut across Wales since 2021, prompting accusations that Labour is failing to protect rural and coastal communities.
The data from the ONS, obtained through a request by the Welsh Liberal Democrats, shows that 2,835 businesses in these sectors have shut since the last Senedd election.
The annual rate of closures has risen from 395 in 2017 to 615 in 2024. In the first half of 2025 alone, 390 businesses closed.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats link the accelerated rate to the announcement of the government’s proposed ‘family farm tax’, due to take effect in April 2026.
They argue the policy could damage farms and rural businesses, while also affecting the Welsh language, given that 43% of agricultural workers are Welsh speakers – significantly higher than the national average.
The party has also criticised what it describes as long-term neglect of rural communities during Labour’s 25 years in Welsh government. It warns that measures forcing farmers to sell up could have “disastrous consequences” for local communities and the language.
As an alternative, the Liberal Democrats are calling for the Welsh government to abandon the tax, increase investment in rural infrastructure, and raise additional revenue by taxing bank profits.
Welsh Liberal Democrat candidate Glyn Preston said the rise in closures reflected long-standing problems facing rural and coastal communities.
He argued that farmers and small businesses were being held back by excessive bureaucracy and a lack of targeted government support.
“It is no wonder we are seeing more agricultural, forestry and fishing businesses closing,” he said. “Labour just don’t understand our rural and coastal communities in Wales, they never have and don’t even seem to make an effort to try to.”
Mr Preston described rural Wales as “packed with ambitious, entrepreneurial people,” but said economic growth in those areas should be treated as a central priority rather than “an afterthought from the Welsh government.”
The debate over the future of farming in Wales comes as the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) launches its 2026 Senedd election manifesto.
The union is calling on the next Welsh government to back family farms, describing them as the backbone of the nation’s economy, culture and landscape.
