‘Made in Wales’ brand needed following ‘shoddily struck’ post-Brexit trade deals, MS warns
A Made in Wales brand is now needed so that Welsh people can identify what produce has been made here and what is in shops because of “shoddily struck Tory deals,” according to a Senedd Member.
Cefin Campbell, Plaid Cymru spokesperson for agriculture, blasted the Australian Trade Deal as “environmentally illiterate” as most of Wales’ imported beef came from Ireland, just 50 miles away, whereas meat will now have to travel 10,000 miles.
Speaking at the beginning of the virtual Royal Welsh, he said there says there is a “real risk” that an influx of cheaper Australian beef and lamb into Welsh markets would undercut domestic produce.
“That’s why I am calling for a ‘Made in Wales’ official brand to help Welsh people identify the produce that has been made here,” he wrote in the Sunday Times.
“Rather than allow shoddily struck Tory deals to inundate our shops and supermarkets with cheap, low-quality produce, we can sell our best food and drink to the world to the benefit, rather than the detriment, of our farmers.
“With summer upon us, rural communities up and down the country would ordinarily be preparing for weeks of shows and fairs, but events of recent months and years has left this period feeling ever more like a harsh winter.
“It is clear that the rural way of life and those earning a living from the land face threats from all directions – be that from the pandemic, Brexit, climate change or the uncertainty caused by the imminent Welsh Labour Government Agriculture Bill.
“I firmly believe that Wales’ agricultural sector holds huge potential. Producing some of the highest quality food and drink in the world, Plaid Cymru has long been an advocate of incentivising businesses to source locally, shortening the supply chain and creating jobs by boosting procurement levels.”
‘Losing money’
An “agreement in principle” between Australia and the UK was published on 17 June, although a final signed agreement is still to be reached.
Last week, Farmers’ Union of Wales head of policy Nick Fenwick warned that the impact of the trade deal on Welsh Agriculture would be “pretty devastating”.
Appearing before Westminster’s Welsh Affairs Committee on Thursday, he warned that the cheaper production methods used in Australian farming would affect the prices that Welsh farmers would be able to charge for their produce.
“There are lots of people who buy on price for very good reasons. They don’t have much money in their pockets,” he said.
“On average lamb prices in the last 20 years have been about a pound a kilo lower in Australia than they have been here and I think it’s about 60 pence for beef.
“Clearly, if those imports pull our prices down, which they inevitably would, you are talking about losing vast amounts of money on every animal in an industry where very often you’re losing money on every animal anyway.”
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Beware of muck-spreaders…Made in Wales for sure…
Absolutely. Westminster have sold us down the river as always, so for internal markets, and for branding for exports, we need Made In Wales.
Irrespective of what local lickspittles with vested interests in a Tory “led” Senedd might have to say, eh Mark?
And your beloved Tories do? How did Cymru vote in the end? Your glorious leader ReTweet would be an abject disaster for Cymru and our people know that. And yet you bleat on about how much better your English masters are at every opportunity (are you on Boris’ kickbacks list to receive taxpayer money?). POSSIBLY because WL won’t support your silly “testing track” scheme. Nowt to do with conviction. Everything to do with self interest. Still, no doub tyou believe your own hype and us lesser mortals just infuriate you because of our lack of vision, that you deserve to… Read more »
A question for you;
since all Antipodean meat products arrive in Europoort on giant freezer ships too big to dock in the UK and then get trans-shipped here, will the meat attract EU tariffs and VAT as it passes through the EU?
Don’t bother trying to find out since you will be bumping into Liz Truss who also hasn’t got a clue despite signing a deal on it.
Did anyone else notice there were no adverts for Welsh lamb in the run up to Easter this year, only British lamb, not sure what Hybu Cig Cymru are up to? cancel culture is already with us, thanks to the tories and their anti wales position.
So why do farmers (including Welsh farmers) vote Tory? The Tories never do anything that is beneficial to most farmers except for the really big ago-industrial farms.
Just before the referendum I overheard the conversation of two young women on a train. Both were from farming backgrounds. One voiced the concerns detailed here. The other mouthed vacuous Brexit blathering and would not be persuaded otherwise. I expect that the pro-leave lady is one of those that remain in deep denial despite all evidence pointing to the damage done to Welsh agriculture.
how many self-employed people vote tory?
how many small business owners vote tory?
I would like to know why more people living in Wales keep voting for unionist parties?
I know my idiot brother voted Tory and he is self employed. He likes to describe himself as a company director in my presence. He drives a van, supports Brexit but complains about delays at the borders, is a Yoon is “anti-woke” etc etc etc.
Bog standard stereotype basically.
I’m going to be deeply unpopular with some people but I thought I’d voice this anyway. The farming community of East Wales at the last election voted neo-con Conservative because of: 1, Corbyn, they hated him with a vengence, 2, It is very easy to believe the lies in the right wing press if you have no personal experience that it is wrong. Many people in the farming community were terrified by stories of immigration and crime waves and yet had never met an immigrant or been subject to crime. 3, Farmers move as a flock/herd, they tend to believe… Read more »
Chwarae teg i chi for speaking as you find. It was no surprise to me when Leave won the referendum. I spent many hours explaining to people the blue thing with the gold stars on the broadband boxes and the highway schemes, that’s where the money for Welsh infrastructure was coming from. In the 70s, many Welsh intellectuals were crying out for the opportunity to build a liberal, internationalist, community-minded, bilingual, educated Wales. 50 years on, we are having the same debates and yet the vision remains the same. Somehow, we need to start bridging the gaps between all parts… Read more »
Thanks Mandi, much more eloquently put than my anecdotal observations. This is why YesCymru is so important, to unify the Cymry, Wenglish and Valleys under one banner.
Let’s hope YesCymru can find a leadership / public face with some weight and not go down the wormhole of so many organisations with unsatisfactory interim leaders who have to be replaced, even the Greens are not finding their way.
It’s time to move away from large plates of meat anyway for ecological reasons. Small chopped pieces mixed with vegetables, nuts, seeds, rice, pasta, potatoes are the way to go. Buying small amounts of good quality meat from well managed animals would fit with guying local. Our farmers will need help with the transition to a smaller market, finding other uses for the land..
…”Our farmers will need help with the transition to a smaller market, finding other uses for the land..” That is the way to go. However if that Ms Griffiths and her lackeys down the Bay have their way the land will be cleared and likes of Monbiot and other ultra adherents of some freaky green gospel will take over. I have never been able to figure out how it’s perfectly acceptable to ship fashionable vegan fodder thousands of miles when there’s perfectly good meat, veg and fruits available from various parts of Wales or just over the border. The policy… Read more »
Like Alban then, that book “Who Owns Scotland?”, we must keep a foothold in our own land.
Right now, is exactly the time to be pushing Welsh produce to the max, Beef and sheep grazed in a sustainable extensive system, shame about that tory internal markets bill and can’t really say locally slaughtered due to the EU and tories forcing small local abattoirs to close, There’s plenty of ground that can be planted with native trees without taking farming land out of production, but that won’t help the likes of monbiot.
Agree. EU was okay, but not earthly paradise.
Okay is better than we have now though
Dear Cefin, we have been promoting the idea of a “Made/ Grown in Wales” label for some time now, what’s difficult? Not just that but all residents of Wales, schools, care homes, etc should be enabled to actively use Welsh produce – and the more local the better. We have been doing it for years helped by Lidl, have to say, who have been excellent at stocking Welsh produce at reasonable prices. Dragon (Lleyn) and Castle (Caerphilly) dairy produce, or if you are in Pembrokeshire your own brands. Locally grown veg and farmer’s markets. We need to be producing more… Read more »
Everybody says shop local/shop Welsh is vitally important but then they order online from Tesco. Only through Welsh independence will it be possible to undermine the power of the big supermarkets by raising the status of Welshness amongst the Welsh. 😂🏴
Hmm, interesting. Isn’t this like the climate change debate? To get real impacts, we have to change our behaviours. I once had a job which allowed me to see close up how Tesco specifically treated small producers. Demanding high levels of supply incompatible with the business’ capacity, shipping fresh goods miles away from their source in order to repackage and rebrand them and then return them to the ‘local’ store, pressure, pressure on small producers negating their business models. Sainbury’s took another approach, requiring sole supply from manufacturers (of ready meals, for example), also creating a high risk factor in… Read more »
That was like walking into a pub and finding a sensible conversation going on for a change! My dad kept a shop hereabouts, man of few words…and most of them were Shop Local…