North Wales farmer backs protestors staging demo over ‘cheap foreign imports’

A North Wales farmer has backed protestors demonstrating against "cheap foreign imports" today. Farmers are stationing their tractors in a supermarket car park in Kent to try to “win over” the British public.

Around 20 tractors are parked at Tesco Extra in Whitfield, near Dover, to raise awareness of the threat to food security in the UK, because of the “unfair” treatment of British farmers. Conwy ^[1] businessman Gareth Wyn Jones supported them and called for a "fair price" for farmers.

It comes during a torrid time for Welsh farmers after many warned last week that protests are "inevitable" over Welsh government reforms. About 1,000 people attended a recent gathering in Welshpool.

The worry lies with an upcoming subsidy scheme for farms, considered "unworkable", that rewards "sustainable" food production and eco-friendly practices starting from 2025.

Speaking to FarmingBritain.tv ahead of Saturday's protest, livestock and potato farmer Jeff Gibson said the single message within their concerns is sustainability.

Mr Gibson said: “British farmers can’t compete with cheap foreign imports and we’re going to be left in a situation where we cannot feed the British public. The biggest problem we’re going to face as an industry and the British public in future years is, what happens in the next crisis, what happens in the next Covid, what happens in the next Ukraine war?

“We need to make people realise that food security in this country is really under threat. If nothing is done, if the Government trade deals go through, we’re going to have points in the future … when the UK’s supermarket shelves are empty and they’re going to be empty for a long time.”

Farmers using their vehicles during a protest against cheap meat imports outside Tesco Extra in Whitfield near Dover (Image: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)

Farmers taking part in the protest hoped to speak to members of the public about the issues in the supermarket car park, after being granted permission from Tesco to set up their protest there. Mr Gibson added that the police were aware of the protest and that he believed the general public will “rally behind farmers”.

The east Kent farmer said: “We’re not going to be tearing up motorways, we’re not going to be spreading Government buildings in manure. We’re going to do this peacefully and we’re going to exercise our right to peaceful protest.”

Referring to the Kent farmers' protest, Gareth Wyn Jones told North Wales Live: "It's part of the whole problem with this country. We have to tick so many boxes to produce food that's of a higher, ethical standard.

"A lot of other countries use pesticides and insectides that have been banned here for many years. That does not give us a level playing field.

"And if they are importing say chicken from Poland the amount of space they give per chicken is totally different to what we have in this country."

Mr Wyn Jones called on supermarkets to pay a "fair price" for UK farmers' food. "The frustration in the agricultural sector is that some people are producing milk and eggs and getting less from the supermarkets than what they cost to produce.

"If you think that's sustainable you're living in Cloud Cuckoo Land. We want a fair price."

He added that currently about two per cent of the UK's population are feeding the other 98 per cent. "I think we're doing a bloody good job," he added.

In another blow Mr Wyn Jones was left "gutted" recently after one of his cows received an "inconclusive" result in a bovine TB test and is being isolated.^[4]

Overall, it's an incredibly challenging time for farmers. He said: "Mental health has never been as low and as bad."

Meanwhile, Welsh farmers are also worried about an upcoming subsidy scheme for farms, considered "unworkable", that rewards "sustainable" food production and eco-friendly practices starting from 2025. To qualify for these new payments, farms must ensure that 10% of their land is covered in trees and another 10% is made into a wildlife habitat.

NFU Cymru has raised "extreme concern" at Welsh Government’s ‘doubling down’ on its 10% tree cover targets. They have said the proposals were too complicated and "did not make business sense". The plans are one of the Welsh government's flagship policies to fight climate change and nature loss.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been contacted for comment about today's demonstration.

References

^{^} Conwy (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Building again taking place at controversial Tryweryn dam but this time things are different (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} The cheapest places to fill up your car in each North Wales county this weekend (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} one of his cows received an "inconclusive" result in a bovine TB test and is being isolated. (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter (www.dailypost.co.uk)