Brexit Implications

February 11, 2016 12:00 am

The issue of the referendum on the UK’s continued membership of the EU is now taking centre-stage in political circles. The possibility of ‘Brexit’ (British EU Exit) has profound implications for the agricultural industry. This is due to the fact the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has supported and shaped the domestic farming industry for the past 40 years. Also, Europe is our major trading partner when it comes to farm produce, and the trading relationships would alter should Brexit occur. Therefore, a number of studies have recently appeared looking at the impact of Brexit on the farming sector.

Firstly, an update on the timing of a vote. The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, presented a plan on the 2^nd February designed to address the four areas that the UK Government has identified as requiring reform. This package (with further ‘tweaks’ likely through additional negotiation) will be put to EU Heads of State at a summit on the 18^th and 19^th February. If a compromise can be found and agreed, this ‘reformed’ relationship will be what the UK electorate votes to accept or reject in the referendum. An agreement at the end of this month is likely to see the vote held in late June.

There will be an intense period of campaigning in the lead-up to the referendum. A number of articles and reports have recently been published on the issues and impacts arising out of Brexit for the farming industry. We wrote about this ourselves in the ‘Outlook 2016’ publication (see http://www.andersons.co.uk/images/AndersonsOutlook2016.pdf). Other recent reports include;