Thank you for having me here today. The last time that I came to this committee was shortly after the referendum result, when we were trying to process exactly where we were and where things were heading. To some extent, we are still in that state of flux.
About 8,500 farming and crofting businesses are members of NFU Scotland. I am here to represent them today.
On the impact of the Brexit process to date, I should make it clear from the start that, prior to the referendum, we were of the view, having taken independent advice, that staying in the European Union would probably be the best-case scenario for our members to ensure continuity of markets and support. Obviously, however, we are where we are now.
On the immediate impact, the fall in the exchange rate has resulted in some short-term relief in terms of prices, particularly for the sheep sector. When the exchange rate falls, farm-gate prices tend to increase. However, that is very much a short-term benefit for the sector. Because of the fall in the exchange rate, we have had quite serious issues in recruiting labour from the EU. That is a problem that we had prior to the referendum, but the fall in the exchange rate has sped up that process, particularly in relation to seasonal labour for the soft fruit and field vegetable sectors. We anticipate that that will continue at pace.
The on-going uncertainty around Brexit has been very damaging to the confidence of our members. It has been frustrating that, for the past two and a half years, we have felt unable to progress with domestic policies such as looking at regulation and supply chains. There has been continued political stagnation on where we will go with Brexit, which is very damaging to confidence. At the time of the referendum, our members were taking business decisions that will have an impact long into the future, and we still do not yet know exactly what the impacts of Brexit will be. We have seen a fall in investment in the sector. People are holding off making big investments and taking business decisions until they know what the outcomes will be.