What An Idiot!

Here is an example of just what idiots the Tory Brexiters are, and why its no wonder they came to support such a ridiculous policy of Brexit.  I couldn't believe it when I read it.

Talking about the proposed tariff free deal between the UK and Australia, under which British livestock farmers will be wiped out by the much larger-scale, and so lower cost Australian producers,

"Conservative MP Neil Parish, chairman of the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, said UK farmers could succeed in the beef market by exporting more "higher-end" cuts, such as sirloin, to Australia."

(BBC)

Now, of course, small economies, like Britain, can attempt to offset some of the disadvantages of their size, and inability to obtain the benefits of economies of scale that comes to producers based in large single markets, like the EU, by shifting their production into high-value areas of production, into niches in which price becomes less important than quality, perceived or real, in being able to capture markets.  For example, an economy might focus on the production of high-value sports cars, or luxury cars that might be produced in relatively low volumes, but find ample markets, for their production, even at high prices, as a result of consumers being concerned to buy a high quality, luxury product.

The problem of that, for a country like Britain, is that although its a minnow compared to the EU, US or China, nor is it a Norway or Finland, able to sustain all of its population in employment in such niche industries.  The idea of employing Britain's 30 million workers producing Aston Martins, or Rolls Royces is not viable, for example, and even these companies are now foreign owned, with the brand and technology easily being transferred overseas, when those owners choose to do so.

But, the idiocy of Parish's comment is even more obvious than that.  For the Chair of a food and agricultural committee, he doesn't seem to understand even the basics of the subject.  He doesn't seem to understand that you can't simply grow high end cuts, like sirloin, or at least you can, but only artificially, now, in a laboratory.  producing sirloin, or any other cut of meat, involves producing all of the rest of the cow too!