By Scott Donaldson, President, Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers in Scotland
AS the Government and the wider country continues to ponder over the major decisions that have to be taken as we leave the European Union, there is a real risk that the scale of challenges ahead lose some perspective. For some, it may be “alright on the night”, but for many dependent on the successful working of the rural economy, the crossing of fingers is insufficient – we have to plan for future success.
Quite rightly, much political oxygen has been expended in recent weeks on the future of Scotland’s fishing industry, but primary agricultural production and the economy that surrounds it cannot be consigned to the margins of the Brexit debate. Too many livelihoods will be put at risk if decisions to be taken over coming months go awry.
Scotland’s livestock markets are, in many ways, the intersection of the rural economy, where buyers and sellers in the chain of production meet and do business. The financial importance of the auction system is hugely important to the livestock production industry in Scotland, with a throughput value for 2017 totalling more than £520 million. Our customers depend on us to deliver the conditions which can guarantee a fair price for the work they do, where supply and demand combine to deliver the return that can be reinvested for future years, and where the consumer can look for the highest welfare standards and guaranteed supply of the highest quality product. None of that can be compromised upon as we leave the EU.
But our departure will trigger the need to decide on how we provide agricultural support systems in the future, beyond the Government’s guarantee period already granted until 2022. Auctioneers believe that now is the right time to to establish a new national consensus on the need to support our ability to continue to deliver high quality food to dinner tables across the UK, whilst encouraging the highest environmental standards and support for those most vulnerable marginal areas of production.
I hope we can all agree, too, that our future trading arrangements with the 27 continuing members of the EU are vital to the survival of the rural economy. In particular, any arrangement which results in tariffs on Scottish meat exports to the continent would be catastrophic for our sector and the wider farming community. As an example, with so much of the demand for Scotch lamb now coming from France and northern Europe, the sector will simply not survive undamaged from any imposed additional cost to trade with this vital market.
However, the success of the wider sector depends on two-way trade. With our livestock haulage sector now so diminished in size, we all depend on a Europe-wide market for transport services to supply the drivers and lorries that deliver our exports to their end markets. We all enjoy the great Scottish environment at this time of year – but there remains precious little understanding of its dependence on a thriving export market beyond our shores. That’s what auction marts deliver – a transparent point of sale for the best of Scottish primary production, and a ready supply of eager buyers, domestic and international. That must continue.
The livestock markets system in Scotland has survived over multiple generations, including the devastation of BSE and foot and mouth disease. We have done so, as our customers and friends in the farming community have adapted and changed. New momentum behind livestock electronic identification is continuing the charge towards higher standards through traceability and quality in production. However, politicians on all sides should be in no doubt on the consequences of a “bad deal” for agriculture in current and looming negotiations.
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