Sheep farmers need EU trade deal, says Conservative MP

UK lamb sales to the EU could be hit by higher prices unless a trade deal can be struck

Getting a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union is "very important to sheep farming", a Tory MP has said.

Former Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb said agricultural communities would not be "satisfied" if the transition period ended without an agreement.

"A deal is better than no deal," the Preseli Pembrokeshire MP said.

Environment Secretary George Eustice has suggested some sheep farmers could switch to beef farming if the EU imposed tariffs on UK lamb prices.

Mr Crabb said he was still "optimistic" a trade deal with the EU will be signed before the end of the transition period on 31 December.

He added that he did believe the UK government was "negotiating seriously" but that it is "not going to blink first - it is going to push it to the wire."

But Mr Crabb said that if, in ten days time, "we are still stuck in the same place" then he would start "to feel very nervous indeed."

Both sides have said they are reaching a "make or break" point in the talks.

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Mr Crabb was asked on the BBC's Politics Live programme about Mr Eustice's comments on Sunday.

The environment secretary had said: "If we're not importing as much beef from Ireland, then those mixed beef and sheep enterprises would be able to diversify into beef."

Stephen Crabb said he was still optimistic about the prospects of a trade deal

In response, Mr Crabb told the BBC's Politics Live that farmers would not be satisfied with that.

"For the agricultural community it's pretty clear cut - a deal is better than no deal. Particularly for sheep farming getting a deal is very important," he said.

Mr Crabb argued the UK government would need to make some kind of intervention to protect sheep farmers livelihoods if no deal was reached.

Last week, the Welsh Government's plan for the end of the transition period said a "Crisis Intervention Scheme" might be needed to support Welsh meat exporters if no deal was reached.

Mr Crabb said that asking sheep farmers to diversify would require "time and extra support."

"We don't want to be in that position, I don't think we're going to be in that position."

Mr Eustice said on Sunday that sticking points over a post-Brexit trade agreement between the UK and EU "can be resolved" and a deal "can be done".

"We do want to get a free trade agreement with the European Union and an agreement could be done," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr.

"We are not asking for anything remarkable. We are asking for an agreement akin to the one they have with Canada.

"We are asking for something that has got a precedent."

However, on the same day he told Sky News there was still "some way between us" and "time is very, very short" to agree a deal.