Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Isle of Mull cheese among first from Scotland to land Down Under following new trade rules

cheese
Twelve varieties of cheese can now be exported to Australia. Image: Shutterstock.

The first shipment of Scottish cheese has arrived in Australia following the removal of trade barriers.

Twelve varieties of cheese, including the famous Isle of Mull, can now be exported Down Under, due to new rules.

The first sea freight shipment consisting of four raw milk cheese varieties arrived this week, with a further three expected to follow.

It is after a lengthy review between the UK and Australia assessing which cheeses can be imported with the newly recognised foreign government certificate.

British farms have been able to prove that food safety standards are up to the high level expected from Australian importers.

Types of cheese now able to be shipped include Montgomery’s Cheddar, Sparkenhoe Red Leicester, St Andrew’s Anster, St Andrew’s Cheddar and Westcombe Cheddar.

The news comes as businesses celebrate Small Business Saturday, which aims to encourage consumers to support small businesses.

Independent cheese farmers across the country are to benefit from the reduction in trade tariffs under the new UK/Australia trade deal.

‘Open up new opportunities for small firms’

Currently, tariffs are at 20% but in five years that figure will have reduced to virtually 0%.

However, there has been criticism of the deal, with one former UK Government official George Eustice MP, claiming the deal gave too much away for little in return.

Others have criticised the deal’s impact on sheep and cattle farmers in Scotland, who could suffer under relaxed rules.

Exports Minister and Aberdeenshire MP Andrew Bowie said: “Small Business Saturday is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the incredible export journeys of British businesses and I am delighted British raw milk cheesemakers can now export to Australia.

“Across the globe, the UK is renowned for its high standards in safety and quality so I am excited that businesses across the dairy sector can freely share their produce with Australian consumers to enjoy.

“This is just the latest success story as we continue to unlock billions by breaking down trade barriers. When we open up new markets, we open up new opportunities for small firms to export – boosting wages, supporting jobs and growing the economy.”

Conversation