Biosecurity Ranked Top Priority In KPMG Agribusiness Agenda 2026
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Ian Proudfoot, just home from a visit to Ireland, says there was much discussion there about Britain exiting the EU (Brexit). A vote on this is due on June 25 and Proudfoot says the polls are evenly poised -- the vote could go either way.
Other polls show 60% of British farmers want out of the EU, but 88% of economists polled are strongly in favour of Britain staying in.
Proudfoot says even if Britain votes to stay in the EU, its relationship with the other 27 member countries will never be the same. If Britain decides to go it alone there are implications for NZ.
"The message for me was that companies doing business with Europe should start thinking about the implications of Brexit," Proudfoot told Rural News.
"The European market is highly volatile and the risk of that volatility getting greater hasn't gone away yet. If NZ companies have their trading base in Britain, as most do, that could be a significant challenge for them if the UK was no longer part of a free common market."
Proudfoot says if Britain decides to exit the EU it would probably create an opportunity for NZ. Britain would probably look to its old Commonwealth allies such as Canada, Australia and NZ to get a special trading agreement in place. But he believes if Britain exits, NZ would lose the leverage it has with Europe by virtue of its special relationship with Britain.
