The Scottish Government’s Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon, and her Northern Ireland Executive counterpart are seeking more clarity on the Australian trade deal from Liz Truss.
Their letter says; ‘We are also concerned by the size of the quotas which after 15 years equate to 16% of UK beef consumption and 49% of UK sheepmeat consumption.
“Clearly if Australian exports reach anything close to these levels, we can expect a very significant negative impact on our agri-food sector. We are not reassured about claims that Australia will not be exporting significant amounts of beef to the UK or is seeking to replace imports from other countries.”