FARMING organisations responded swiftly to Prime Minister Theresa May's statement on the UK's Brexit policy on Tuesday.

She set out three key positions – the UK will not seek to be a member of the single market but will seek the best possible access through a bilateral free trade agreement.

It will not remain a full member of the EU customs union – so it can pursue new free trade deals with other countries – but will seek new customs arrangements, and she said the deal should be phased to avoid economic cliff edges and allow reorganisation.

In response, the NFU said it will seek urgent talks with the Government on how a post-Brexit Britain could work for Britain’s food production, and to seek detailed commitments on a suitable transition period.

It said 72 per cent of agricultural exports go to the EU with some sectors being heavily dependent – £290m of £300m of UK lamb exports went to Europe and 78 per cent of wheat and barley exports.

The NFU Council still has important concerns. It said if a quick and comprehensive deal cannot be achieved it will be vital to have appropriate phased arrangements to avoid a disruptive cliff-edge to allow Britain’s farmers to adapt. It said farming is a long-term industry where farmers are making decisions now without knowing what a future trading environment will look like.

The Council did welcome Mrs May's acknowledgement that access to a reliable overseas workforce is vital for many British industries including farming.

Ross Murray, president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), fully supported the plan to secure the best possible free trade agreement with the EU.

He said: "Our aim must be to retain tariff free access for all products and all parts of the agri-food supply chain."

However, he was more cautious about the consequences of new trade deals with other countries and markets.

He said: "We will urge the Government to consider closely the balance of opportunity and risk for the agri-food sector that is specific to each and every potential deal available to the UK post-Brexit.

"The type of Brexit the Prime Minister has set out is a dramatic change and will have a particularly major impact on UK farming.

"We therefore welcome the Prime Minister's reassurances about avoiding economic cliff edges and the importance of a phased implementation. Getting this implementation phase right will be critical to the livelihoods of farmers and the future of rural communities across Britain."

Dr Judith Bryans, chief executive of Dairy UK, the trade association, still had significant concerns about the UK's prospects outside the Single Market.

She said: "With 80 per cent of UK dairy exports currently going to EU countries, any disruption to current agreements would have an extensive and costly impact on our industry.

"What we absolutely cannot see is a fall back to World Trade Organisation default terms as the tariffs within WTO arrangements would have disastrous consequences for dairy trade.

"In addition to uninterrupted access to the EU market, our priority for the UK dairy industry is to avoid the creation of non-tariff barriers and to retain access to productive labour."