Farmers’ “fears have been realised” by the signing of the UK-Australia trade deal, a union chief has warned.

NFU Cymru expressed concerns over the proposed deal, and president John Davies said he felt the terms of the deal justified its claims.

He said: “NFU Cymru expressed its concerns about the free trade agreement in principle between the UK and Australia back in the summer and it now appears that those fears have been realised.

“We will, of course, analyse the detail in full but on the face of it, there do not seem to be any tangible benefits that will deliver for Wales’ family farms.

“NFU Cymru is ambitious for the future of food production here in Wales, but we expect to be able to compete on a level playing field and this deal does not deliver that. In agricultural terms, the Australian negotiators have secured all they have asked for, while Welsh and British farmers can quite legitimately ask what has been secured for them.”

He said one major concern was the move to time limit safeguards on sensitive sectors, and that the dairy sector would be liberalised fully after six years, and beef and lamb after 15.

“To be absolutely clear, this means there will be no safeguards available for any products if imports reach damaging levels after that 15-year period has passed,” Mr Davies added.

“Welsh farmers will be just as concerned that the UK Government has agreed to beef and lamb quotas which will favour imports of high-value cuts, despite this being the end of the market where our farmers tend to derive any value from their hard work.

“This particular detail is likely to be of significance in Wales where we have such a high proportion of family beef and/or sheep enterprises.

“It’s also difficult to discern anything in this deal that will allow us to control imports of food produced below the standards legally required of British farmers, for instance on land deforested for cattle production or systems that rely on the transport of live animals in a way that would be illegal here.”

The final deal was signed in a virtual ceremony by International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan on Thursday, December 16, and will now be laid in Parliament for scrutiny.

Ms Trevelyan said: “Our UK-Australia trade deal is a landmark moment in the historic and vital relationship between our two commonwealth nations.

“This agreement is tailored to the UK’s strengths, and delivers for businesses, families, and consumers in every part of the UK – helping us to level up. We will continue to work together in addressing shared challenges in global trade, climate change and technological changes in the years ahead.

“Today we demonstrate what the UK can achieve as an agile, sovereign trading nation.”