A leading agricultural lobby has warned that Boris Johnson urgently needs to develop a strategy to enable British agriculture to cope with the “earthquake” changes brought about by the new liberalized trade agreement in the United Kingdom.

In a letter to the Prime Minister on Monday, Minnet Butters, chairman of the National Farmers Union, asked the British government to increase investment to help British farmers enter new markets in Asia and protect them from lowering environmental and welfare standards. The impact of imported products.

The request for help was sent out a week later UK and Australia announced A trade agreement that includes the gradual reduction of “zero tariff and zero quota” imports of Australian beef and lamb. The NFU warned that it could set a dangerous precedent for future transactions and lead to a “slow death” in the English countryside.

Butters said the government puts British farmers in the “most special situation”, that is, while setting new environmental and animal welfare standards, it is negotiating a trade agreement abroad that will have a “far-reaching impact” on the market.

“If we just want to raise the standard here, instead of making the same request to other countries and importing what we are not allowed to do here, that is illegal, then my goodness, this will have a huge impact,” she Say.

Liz Truss, Minister of International Trade Controversial The NFU’s description of the UK-Australia agreement stated that it would open the door to new export opportunities in Asia, and feared that Australian beef imports would only replace some existing EU imports “over time”.

However, Butters stated that it will take 5 to 10 years to break into new markets, and called for urgent investment in the UK’s export promotion agencies to match countries such as the Netherlands, where 100 people focus on agricultural exports, while Australia has 22 people. -Time trade consultant.

In contrast, there are only two full-time agricultural consultants in the UK that pay by taxing farmers, Butters said, adding that unless the government puts in more “boots,” it will only deal with the “voice and speech” trade. policy.

Nick von Westenholz, NFU’s EU Exit and International Trade Director, added that even Australian imports may affect prices, even if they only deprive the EU of trade. “If it replaces imports from the EU, it will still put downward pressure on prices,” he said.

The NFU also warned that other countries, such as the United States, Canada and New Zealand-who are seeking to reach a trade agreement with the United Kingdom by the end of August-are privately aware that they now expect a liberalization package similar to that granted to Australia. .

“When talking to other countries, they saw [the UK-Australia trade deal] As a precedent, they want the same,” Butters said.

In the long term, Batters stated that failure to protect British producers would harm the British food manufacturing industry, which relies on British-made products, directly employs 440,000 people, and Annual value to the economy exceeds £120 billion.

Batters acknowledged that farmers have “proved difficult” to convey their messages to the British government. Many NFU members feel betrayed, but the industry wants to cooperate with the government. “We need a government that stops doing public relations and starts doing policy.”

The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment