No-deal Brexit could ramp up UK supermarket meat sales
BMPA said consumers should expect to see beef prices rise by 40% across UK supermarkets, while chicken would also jump up by 22% if a no-deal Brexit was implemented.
The warning was in response to an article in The Times, which revealed a no-deal Brexit would hike up food bills by an average of 12%.
BMPA said the main cause of the price hike was due to the World Trade Organization tariffs.
GlobalMeatNews exclusively spoke with the International Meat Trade Association’s policy director Katie Doherty this week, who explained that if a no-deal Brexit happened, then the meat industry would be most affected.
She said that tariffs, veterinary checks and customs would make life difficult for beef and chicken processors when trading.
Meanwhile, BMPA said that, since the referendum, the value of sterling had seen the cost of meat rise considerably and a no-deal Brexit would put further pressures on the industry.
“For some meat processors who import up to 40% of their raw materials, this is a significant increase in costs, some of which are resulting in higher prices to the consumer,” said a BMPA statement. “The Times article says that MPs and the Treasury are now ‘waking up’ to the realities of what a no-deal Brexit means. Let’s hope they heed the warnings, but meanwhile, BMPA will continue to voice the less understood and often hidden implications of Brexit.”
Several meat bodies, including the British Poultry Council, have expressed worries about how a no-deal Brexit could affect the industry and have planned for a “crisis scenario”.
