Nick Clegg sets out the problems Brexit may cause the UK food and drink industry

Nick Clegg has published the third of his Brexit Challenge papers.

This one looks the potential challenges facing the UK's food and drink industry after Brexit and has already received considerable media coverage.

Nick writes:

UK membership of the EU affects almost every aspect of the food chain, from the pesticides that can be used on our crops, to the profitability of our farms, to the labelling of products in our shops; from the employment conditions of agricultural workers to hygiene standards in factories; and from the subsidies paid to farmers to the quantity of fish that can be caught. The impacts of Brexit will be felt by everyone. 

While some manufacturers will hope that Brexit leads to the opening of new markets, the reality is that exporting will become more complicated and difficult in the short term. The food and drink industry will have to adapt quickly to disruption of their access to established markets and to uncertainty about the entire regulatory framework. 

Consumers will have to get used to higher prices even beyond the impact of the falling value of the pound.

You can read the whole paper on the Liberal Democrats website.