Meat export policy change will hamper exports, says Worcestershire farmer

Farmer Tim Jones, of Worcestershire, said he wanted the current system to remain in place

A farmer said he feared a change in meat export policy would mean more red tape and hamper sales to Europe.

Farmers currently self-certify the health of their animals for export, as per EU rules, but on 13 December the UK government wants vets to sign them off.

Farmer Tim Jones, of Worcestershire, questioned whether the veterinary profession had the manpower.

The British Meat Association has already written to the government warning it will cause disruption.

In a letter to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs minster Mark Spencer last month, the body said it would have a devastating effect on the 72% of meat exports that go to the EU adding that the situation was "entirely avoidable".

"We believe it will have an immediate impact on livestock prices here in the UK as well as causing significant and costly disruption for the supply chain," it said.

"This in turn will drive food price inflation for consumers as the industry is forced to recover lost export revenue and additional costs through higher prices."

'Carry on'

Mr Jones, who farms sheep and cattle at Wilden Farm in Tenbury Wells, said: "I think we have a degree of pressure on the number of vets we have in the country practicing with large animals.

"I would have a concerns the veterinary profession has the manpower to do what the government is asking."

Currently, when Mr Jones wants to sell meat for export he signs a form to confirm a vet makes regular health visits to his farm.

"There'd be regular routine visit on the cattle side for TB testing which is twice a year at least now," he said.

"I think in the UK now the standards are high. I think they're world leading - we should be proud of that and carry on doing what we're doing."

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But the new policy was not going to make it any easier to export in the future and he said he wanted to see a continuation of the current rules.

"It's going to make it harder for the abattoirs further down the line to stitch that paperwork together and certify every single load."

Up until Brexit and the pandemic "just about every sheep we sold" went to the continental catering trade to France, he added.

But he said Brexit had introduced more red tape and paperwork for abattoirs that were exporting to Europe making trade" very sticky" at the moment.