KEY FIGURES in the UK's food and drink sector have called for a substantial 'transitional period' in the country's move to outside the European Union, warning that a chaotic 'cliff edge' Brexit could cause serious damage to UK food and farming businesses.

In a joint letter to the Government, signatories from 26 UK food and drink supply chain bodies laid out their key priorities for the ongoing negotiations with the EU, stressing the need to protect the UK’s food security.

The signatories, including the British Meat Producers Association, the Food and Drink Federation, the British Poultry Council and the British Oats and Barley Millers Association, stressed that the UK's trading ties with the EU were 'deeply interwoven', as was the regulatory framework, and warned that an abrupt change would have 'enormous consequences' for the industry, its employees and for the choice and availability of food in this country.

"Food and drink is the UK’s largest manufacturing sector and the largest employer in the service sector, employing four million people throughout the ‘farm to fork’ food chain," read the letter. "Since the vote to leave the European Union, representatives from the UK food and drink supply chain have worked with the UK Government to explain the policy outcomes they feel they need in order to continue providing safe, affordable and nutritious food and drink to UK consumers."

The key points the industry now wants to see Westminster's negotiators pursue include:

[blob] Avoid any ‘cliff edge’ by securing an adequate interim and transitional period to help prepare for a new relationship with the EU;

[blob] Quickly negotiate the right to remain for the exiting EU workforce and their families, alongside fresh work to develop home-grown talent, and industry consultation ahead of any new migration scheme;

[blob] Recognise the unique nature of the UK's relationship with Ireland by agreeing a series of special solutions on workforce, regulation and borders;

[blob] Deliver continued zero-tariff and frictionless trade across borders in both directions to give consumers the choice they expect, at a price they can afford;

[blob] Maintain consumer confidence in UK food safety and authenticity through a stable, equivalent regulatory framework .

Earlier this week, Scotland's shadow rural affairs secretary Peter Chapman called for a more “positive” approach to the debate about post-Brexit farm subsidies in the UK.

“It is right that politicians and the farming industry debate all of the issues around Brexit, but at the moment, the discussion is focused in the wrong direction," said the Scottish Conservative MSP. “We should be talking about what the new system of farm payments will look like.

“The Conservative government has made clear that the current level of subsidies will be maintained until 2022," noted Mr Chapman. "While that will provide some short-term reassurance to farmers, the crucial thing is how we devise a system going forward that better serves agriculture in Scotland and the UK.

"We need a system that is easier to apply for and easier to administer. It must direct support at the farmers that produce the high quality food that we rely on, while at the same time recognising that we need to protect the environment," he said.

“I would like to see a more positive debate on that basis. Brexit is happening, whether we voted for it or not, and we need to take a pragmatic approach to ensure the best possible outcome.”