The Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW) held a Brexit-focused conference in Glasgow this weekend. In his address, incoming president Frank Clarke warned against agriculture being traded away in negotiations and that “the scramble to secure free trade deals with non-EU nations must not be allowed to damage our home market.”

UK farming minister George Eustice was called out for talking about raising animal welfare standards further as a protective measure against imports. The strong view of Scotland’s meat industry that the standards are high enough and any further raising of standards would increase costs but not add any further value.

People and cattle were raised as an issue. The dependence of the Scottish meat processing industry on EU migrant labour was highlighted as no different to any other UK region. The conference emphasised the need for continued access to this along with a programme to generate better indigenous UK participation in the sector.

Listen to Scottish meat processor Alan McNaughton of McIntosh Donald in our podcast below:

Listen to "Scottish meat processor Alan McNaughton" on Spreaker.

A further concern raised was the fact that Scotland’s cattle numbers are now at their lowest since 1950. The vicious circle of falling numbers leading to reduced factory throughput and consequent increased processing costs was highlighted as a real problem for the future Scottish beef industry.

On the issue of cattle, weights at slaughter continue to be a particular problem for Scotland, according to SAMW president Frank Clarke. Scotland’s steer average carcase weight is now 390kg, the highest of any region of the UK. This was emphasised by meat plant operator Alan McNaughton who runs the McIntosh Donald plant in Northern Scotland in a podcast with the Irish Farmers Journal.

In recent years, sizes have reduced a bit but not enough for abattoirs.

Agriculture policy

In an open discussion forum, attention was given to making sure the industry asked for the proper level of support for a UK agriculture policy post-Brexit. Conall Donnelly from NIMEA, the Northern Ireland meat processors representative organisation, said there was a danger that we allow our expectations be lowered more than necessary. Indications that limits on Government support were curtailed by WTO rules was also challenged in the belief that WTO allows more support flexibility than is currently used by the EU.

Listen to an interview with Conall Donnelly in our podcast below:

Listen to "Conall Donnelly of NI Meat Exporters Association" on Spreaker.

News that Northern Ireland will receive Chinese inspectors next month is welcome but it is just the second step on the road to approval for beef exports to the world’s fastest growing beef market.

Details of the visit were announced by Martin Williams of the UK Export Certification Partnership (UKECP) at the conference.

UKECP is an industry partnership made up of the UK levy bodies, factory trade associations and farmer representatives and works to open new export markets for the UK beef industry.

The two-week visit scheduled for next month will concentrate on examining the traceability system in place in the UK and will also involve factory visits to examine official controls. However, securing export approval to China is a slow process, as Ireland knows so well. After five years of negotiations, Ireland just last week signed a protocol but an export certificate still has to be agreed and individual factory approvals have to take place before beef can start to move. For Northern Ireland and Scotland, approval is unlikely to be achieved before 2021.

Complex process

The round-up of progress on opening export markets revealed just how complex and slow the entire process is. The USA, a long-term target, is bogged down in agreeing a suitable method of E coli testing as the UK application for approval included all types of meat. Ireland secured access for prime cuts only to the USA initially, with manufacturing beef for burgers just getting approval almost 18 months later in July 2016, with the first shipment only taking place earlier this month.

There is better news on the Philippines, with approval expected in coming days. This has also been a long process but will be worthwhile as the Philippines is constantly among Ireland’s top third country export destinations.

Agriculture support

Fergus Ewing, the Scottish cabinet secretary for the rural economy and connectivity, told the conference that it is “no, no, no” to a New Zealand model for Scottish farming. He said that farmers and crofters are the custodians of the landscape and should not be taken for granted, and without them there would be land abandonment which would leave the Scottish landscape very different.

He was also of the view that it would be impossible to develop a new agriculture policy for the UK (and Scotland) and suggested that the present policy be rolled over until new policy is developed.

Unsurprisingly for a Scottish National Party member, he was strongly of the view that a new policy for Scottish agriculture should be developed in Scotland.

In response, SAMW president Frank Clark said: “We welcome the cabinet secretary’s comments on the need for a transition period post-Brexit. Whether the correct timescale for this is two years or as long as five, the important point is that we must have a smooth transition into the post-Brexit structure.”