UNIONS and politicians have warned that the New Zealand trade deal with the UK will damage rural communities.

The UK Government’s International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the deal will ‘slash red tape’ between the two countries and that UK trade will ‘soar’ as a result.

But mid and west Wales MS Jane Dodds warned this week: “The UK Government has negotiated a trade agreement that will actively damage Welsh farming communities and will bring next to no tangible benefits to our local economies.

“Instead of delivering ‘Global Britain’, this Government is selling Welsh farmers down the river.”

NFU Cymru and the Farmers Union of Wales have also opposed the deal.

Speaking after the announcement, NFU Cymru President, Aled Jones said: “I see very little in this deal to benefit Welsh farmers and there are significant downside risks for the red meat and dairy sectors, both of which characterise traditional Welsh family farming.

“This latest deal with New Zealand closely mirrors the UK/Australia deal, confirming the precedent which we feared had been set, leading to full tariff liberalisation across a range of sectors over the next few years.

“These deals offer significant upsides for farmers on the other side of the world, who will in due course have full access to our hugely valuable market. The UK Government is asking us to go toe-to-toe with some of the most export-orientated farmers in the world, without the serious or long-term investment that is necessary to enable us to grow our exports. We call on the UK Government to convene the recently announced Food and Drink Export Council and to ensure the agri-food attachés which were promised to us last year are in post as a matter of urgency.”

FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “Farmers are extremely angry that the UK Government is pursuing trade deals that their own figures confirm will be damaging to our food and farming sectors and undermine our food security.

“We need look no further than what is happening in Ukraine and in relation to gas and fuel supplies to see how rapidly things can change on the global stage, yet the UK Government’s trade policy is recklessly undermining our food security by shifting reliance to countries that are tens of thousands of miles away.”