Committee publication · Correspondence · 17 July 2025
Correspondence from the Farmers’ Union of Wales to the Chair dated 26 June 2025 relating to the 4 June evidence session
From: Welsh Affairs Committee
Inquiry: Farming in Wales in 2025: Challenges and Opportunities
Summary
The Farmers' Union of Wales responds to follow-up questions from the Welsh Affairs Committee's 4 June evidence session. The union details how post-Brexit checks and certificates increased costs and complexity for exporters, citing £200 million spent on Export Health Certificates since January 2021 and a 21% decline in UK exports since 2018. It cautiously welcomes the UK-EU SPS agreement but warns of challenges around regulatory alignment, future EU rule changes, and diverging agricultural policy frameworks.
Key findings
- UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement introduced new regulatory barriers, rule of origin requirements, customs checks, and non-tariff measures absent under EU Single Market membership.
- Veterinary Attestation requirements for animal origin products added significant cost and complexity; industry spent over £200 million on Export Health Certificates since 1 January 2021.
- UK exports declined 21% since 2018 due to Brexit bureaucracy, though EU remains largest export market for Welsh agri-food products.
- SPS agreement welcomed as step to restore relations but implementation will take years; alignment with EU standards risks UK losing influence over EU rule-setting as non-Member State.
- Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 contradicts EU ruling on precision-bred organisms, potentially disadvantaging devolved producers; divergence in agricultural legislation from CAP principles threatens competitiveness.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Farmers' Union of Wales, Gareth Parry, Welsh Affairs Committee, UK Government, EU, Ian
Notable line
“… industry has spent in excess of £200 million on Export Health Certificates since 1st January”
Key Quotes
“… the UK - EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement established the framework for trade, aiming to facilitate the continued movement of goods without tariffs or quotas, it introduced new regulatory barriers, rule of origin requirements, customs checks, and non-tariff measures that were absent when the UK was part of the EU's Single Market and Customs Union.”
“Reports suggest that the industry has spent in excess of £200 million on Export Health Certificates since 1st January”
“… the EU remains the largest export market for Welsh agri-food exports. As such, the long-term security of the EU market for the trading of agri-food products should not be underestimated given the current volatility of global markets.”
“… we must consider how this may place the UK in a challenging position in future as it no longer has the power, as a formal Member State, to influence European rules and will have to accept the EU's Court of Justice's jurisdiction on the way they are applied.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗