Comments by "Quentin Newark" (@quentinnewark2745) on "Will the Indian variant delay Covid unlocking? - The Week in 60 Minutes | SpectatorTV" video.
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@jacksonmiked try this — https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/planet-normal/id1514949294?i=1000522434123 — about ten minutes in they itemise bed occupancy in the Indian mutant variant epicentre: the hospitals in Bolton. 500 occupied beds, 139 empty beds, a mere 24 covid patients, five in ICU (they dont itemise vaccined or not, age, existing conditions). Of the 3,000 reported cases, it would be useful to know, how many with which testing method (LFT much higher false positives), and how many had symptoms, any?
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@liaminwales you make lots of good points.
Here is NZ’s export strategy, you’ll see biggest customers are China/USA/EU not UK. The same will be true for Australia. As China gets ever wealthier, its demand for meat will grow, given its geographic proximity, China will continue to absorb pretty much all the meat Aus/NZ can deliver to it. I doubt either country has the capacity to “flood” the UK. https://beeflambnz.com/your-levies-work/trade-policy
You’ll also see that they favour agreements and stability. Predictability. It is not good strategy to ruin the markets of a country you want an enduring relationship with.
Our pork industry looks to be in fine health: https://ahdb.org.uk/pork-market-outlook
I completely agree UK needs to produce much of our own food, and preserve ‘food security’. I don’t see why importing some food from abroad threatens that. Otherwise you are in an EU CAP situation, protectionism, preventing developing countries from developing. Look at the EU ban on processed coffee and cocoa, preserving those high-value industries within the EU (Germany is biggest coffee producer in EU and doesn’t grow a single bean). Our population seems hungry enough to eat and drink far more than domestic production alone can sustain. I think we will see far more free trade agreements, like today’s Australian deal (tariffs and limits on a taper).
As for standards, fully agreed. Will this not be an issue of labelling? I (grudgingly) pay more for free-range organic chicken. My cousin only ever buys British food. British farmers with their admirable husbandry don’t need to sell to every Brit, just enough of us.
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