Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the import of (a) beef, (b) lamb and (c) mutton through the free trade agreement between the UK and Australia on UK farmers.

This Government's commitment to farmers and the vital role they play, remains steadfast. We will never forget that farmers are the beating heart of our great country. It is their hard work that puts food on our tables and stewards our beautiful countryside.

The Government's estimate of the potential economic impact of the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) can be found in the published Impact Assessment (IA), and suggests that gross output could be reduced by around 3% for beef and 5% for sheepmeat. Since the FTA came into force on the 31^st May 2023, imports from Australia have not yet reached the levels estimated in the IA. Australia continues to focus on geographically closer markets and used 20% of its sheepmeat quota and 8% of its beef quota in 2023 since the FTA has been in force.