stock-in-trade: what meat and dairy should we import?
The UK imported £6.6 billion of meat, £3.3 billion of dairy & eggs and £2.4 billion of animal feed in 2019 (Source: Defra) – more than double what it exported that year. Trade negotiations with many potential trading partner countries are at a critical stage, the Agriculture Bill was being brought in, the Trade and Agriculture Commission had been given an extended role and a US President who believes in climate change had been elected. With this backdrop, what does the future hold for meat & dairy imports? We explored this and much more at this 2020 Business Forum dinner meeting.
Our speakers at this meeting were:
- Professor Tim Benton, Research Director, Chatham House
- Sue Davies, Head of Consumer Protection and Food Policy, Which?
- Simon Doherty, Vet Sustain
Helen Browning OBE, farmer, Chief Executive of the Soil Association and member of the Food Ethics Council, chaired the meeting.
The report below captures some key insights from the discussion.