Scottish food producers 'angry' at Boris Johnson trade deal

It follows a similar deal struck with Australia in June which prompted an equally wary reaction, and stands on the shoulders of the great UK-US trade alliance.

Scottish farmers, who were said to have reacted with anger and dismay, said that “as with the Australian deal, the New Zealand negotiations have been concluded without proper parliamentary scrutiny”.

The Department for International Trade insists the agreement will be “a boost to British exporters and small businesses as both countries ditch tariffs and cut red tape” while providing “more opportunities to live and work in New Zealand”.

“This is a fantastic week for Global Britain,” said Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the press release, as the deal was struck, and, separately, off popped the unelected new parliamentary under secretary of state to the Scotland Office, Lord Offord, appointed on October 4, to India with the Edinburgh Tattoo to promote business and cultural links.

The “comprehensive” New Zealand trade agreement offers new opportunities for tech and services companies, the UK Government said.

Martin Kennedy, National Farmers' Union of Scotland president, said: “Having now put in place a similar deal (to Australia’s) to grant unfettered access to New Zealand, another major food exporting nation, the cumulative impact of all such deals on farmers and crofters will be substantial.

Martin Kennedy. Scottish farmers reacted with 'anger and dismay' and say much is wrong with deal. (Image: NFU Scotland)

“This latest deal offers virtually nothing to Scottish farmers and crofters in return but risks undermining our valuable lamb, dairy and horticultural sectors by granting access to large volumes of imported goods that could be produced in farming systems not currently permitted here.”

David Henig, of the think tank ECIPE and UK Trade Forum, said that “the cumulative effect of all trade deals on the future of UK (and particularly Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish) agriculture needs to be urgently considered”.

Also unelected, the Brexit minister’s latest take in Lisbon on leaving the EU is “truly bizarre”, business editor Ian McConnell says in his Called to Account column this week.

He describes “the degree to which Lord Frost waxed lyrical about what he sees as benefits of Brexit and crucially the lack of any kind of real acknowledgement of the problems caused” as incredible.

Roughshod riding also appears to be in evidence ahead of COP26, as one hotelier told The Herald he has been far from impressed by the quality of project management on show from the UK Cabinet Office, the principal organiser – a view he said was shared by other businesses involved in supporting the summit.

Hopes that a pioneering carbon capture and storage cluster will be developed in Scotland within the next few years have suffered a stinging setback this week.

Supporters of the plans for the development of a Scottish cluster lost out on backing under a UK Government programme to encourage the development of carbon capture and storage facilities as a key element of its net zero drive.

Meanwhile, as restrictions have eased, so the residential property letting market in Glasgow has “gone crazy”, with rental prices soaring to record levels.

Retail sales, Great Britain: September 2021

A first estimate of retail sales. Source: Office for National Statistics.

Source: Office for National Statistics

Retail sales volumes fell by 0.2% in September 2021, following an upwardly-revised 0.6% fall in August; despite the fall in September, volumes were 4.2% higher than their pre-coronavirus pandemic February 2020 levels.

Source: Office for National Statistics.