Smaller food manufacturers face the greatest risk from a cliff-edge Brexit, environment secretary Michael Gove (right) has warned, repeating calls for the UK food industry to support the Prime Minister's Brexit deal. Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference on 3 January, the head of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pointed to the cost a no-deal Brexit would have on small to medium-sized (SME) food manufacturers - which make up more than 90% of the industry. "A nation like ours can adapt and flourish over time, but the turbulence generated by our departure would be considerable," he said. "It would hit smaller food businesses worse. While predictions of what would happen without a deal have been dismissed as another episode of 'project fear', when we look at what a no-deal Brexit would involve, we do need to be clear about the costs." Gove warned that, on average, tariffs would rise by 11% across the board, while some sectors were facing much higher costs. He claimed that, in the meat sector, tariffs could increase by 40% at least.
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