Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 1:51 pm on 20 February 2019.
Diolch, Llywydd. Has the Minister seen the panicked letter that was written by the major European agricultural food and drink organisations to Michel Barnier on 6 February? It says:
'on behalf of the entire EU agri-food chain'—
I'm reading from the letter itself, pointing out that
'In 2017, EU-27 agri-food exports to the UK amounted to €41 billion', whilst the UK sells only €17 billion in return. So, there's a massive deficit in food and drink between Britain and the EU, which opens up a very substantial opportunity for British producers if there is indeed no deal on 29 March. Does she welcome at last the dawning realisation on the part of European producers that, if there is no deal, this is going to hurt them far more than it'll hurt us?