The Farmers’ Union of Wales has welcomed the white paper on Brexit launched by Welsh Government First Minister Carwyn Jones and the leader of Plaid Cymru Leanne Wood today.
The joint Welsh Brexit plan calls for continued participation in the single market, as well as a "balanced approach" to immigration linking migration to jobs.
First Minister Carwyn Jones stated that the paper "balances the message which the Welsh people gave us" of the Brexit vote "with the economic reality that makes participation in the single market so important for the future prosperity of Wales, and indeed the UK as a whole".
FUW President Glyn Roberts responded to the plans, saying: “I welcome the stance taken by Welsh Government in their Brexit white paper, which acknowledges that “continued participation in the single market to support the future prosperity of Wales” is essential”.
“The livestock producers which make up the vast majority of Welsh farmers are particularly reliant on exports to the continent, and the FUW has made it clear since the referendum that full and unfettered access is essential to Wales.
“Around 30 percent of Welsh lambs were exported to continental Europe, and the complexity of pan-EU food supply chains means there are acute threats for other sectors.”
The Brexit white paper also call on the UK Government to make good on promises that Wales would not lose funding as a result of Brexit, as well as calling for recognition that there needs to be a "fundamentally different" relationship between the devolved governments and the UK government.
The FUW has continually stressed that a transition period of at least 10 years is necessary in order to phase in and allow the industry to adjust to new agricultural policies post-Brexit and in addition, has argued that agricultural support following our exit from the European Union should be maintained at levels which at least reflect those levels which would have been in place should the UK have voted to remain in the EU.
Furthermore, recognising the different role the Welsh and devolved administrations have to play has been welcomed recently by the FUW.
Speaking about the role the Welsh Government should play in negotiating our exit from the EU, Mr Roberts said: “Devolution should be respected within an overarching UK support framework in the context of making our withdrawal from the European Union and as such we welcomed Theresa May’s commitment to work with the devolved administrations and her recognition that Wales is different to the rest of the UK. That call has today been mirrored by Welsh Government and we will continue to work with them to develop a framework that takes Wales’ unique position into account.”
A third of Wales’ population live in rural areas where farming, and businesses which rely on agriculture, play an important role in local economies; in sparsely populated areas, where centres of population have less than 2,000 people, around 10 per cent of workers are employed in agriculture. That equivalent to 14 per cent of those employed outside the public sector.
“Taking these figures into consideration, the FUW has highlighted for many years the wider role agriculture plays in terms of supporting Wales’ rural and wider economy and that’s why we are stressing the fact that agriculture needs to be allowed to adjust to new policies post-Brexit and that support is maintained in line with other EU countries.
“The chances of a bad trade deal or no deal at all increase the faster the UK government proceeds, which is why the FUW has consistently called for a lengthy transition period. Otherwise we risk being like lemmings rushing towards a cliff edge."