Pressure mounts on UK government as Aussies block British beef

Pressure is mounting on UK government to address the much-maligned Australian free-trade deal after a shipment of British beef was blocked by Australian border controls.

An unnamed exporter was told its British beef jerky could not be shipped to Australia because the UK government had not yet requested access.

This is according to the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA), which told Farmers Weekly there is no “reciprocal agreement” for UK beef, meaning other countries – such as South Africa – would supply the product instead.

See also: Aussie trade deal – opportunities and threats to UK farmers

Pressure is now falling on the government to not make a repeat mistake of the inequitable trade deal.

In a letter to Kemi Badenoch, secretary of state for the department of business and trade, the BMPA has called for fast action. 

“UK farmers would be deeply concerned if it emerged that we are prepared to import Australian meat and meat products without restriction, but are unable to export to that market despite having a free-trade agreement,” wrote the BMPA’s chief executive Nick Allen.

Medium risk

Australian beef is classed as a “medium-risk” product, which the BMPA says involves passing a streamlined export health certification process. Meanwhile, Australian lamb is classed as “low-risk”, capable of entering the UK without an export health certificate.

Phil Hadley, trade development director at AHDB, said part of the problem was that the UK government had not requested access for British beef into the Australia market.

However, he said Britain could ship pork into Australia because approval was requested and granted.

Dr Hadley said that while any market was a valuable market for British produce, the efforts of trade delegations had not focused on Australia.

He said access into the US and China and working on trade with South Korea had been prioritised.

“It doesn’t feel equitable, but the Americans probably feel the same about the US not having UK access for sheepmeat, while the UK have been able to access the US with sheep exports since late 2022,” Dr Hadley told Farmers Weekly.

He said an approval process for British beef would likely take three to five years.

Details needed

Meanwhile, the NFU has called on the government to publish details about the level of scrutiny placed by the Border Targeting Operating Model –  the UK’s post-Brexit standards on imports – on Australian meat products.

The NFU said it is essential to have sufficient funding for vets, auditors and overseas visits to do an “in-country” audit of Australian farms, supply chain and processing facilities. Prior to leaving the EU, such an assessment would have been expected, the NFU said.

Gail Soutar, chief EU exit and international trade adviser, said: “We haven’t seen any of the assessments themselves, just the outcome of risk categorisation.”

‘Ridiculous’

Warwickshire dairy, beef and arable farmer Charles Goadby of No Farmers No Food said the lopsided nature of the trade agreement was “ridiculous” and expressed concern at Australia’s slacker laws on antibiotics growth promoters.

“As an organisation, we are not anti-trade. We need diversity of products, but not if it means importing like-for-like products that threaten to undermine our highly regulated UK produce.”

Farmers Weekly has contacted Ms Badenoch’s office for a comment.