Following the inaugural UK-EU Summit in May, Britain’s florists, greengrocers, plant traders and garden centres are now set to benefit from a food and plant deal with the EU, which will remove barriers to trading flowers, fruit, and vegetables. The new deal is expected to add more than £5 billion a year to the UK economy and increase UK agricultural exports by around 16%.
Since leaving the EU, UK agri-food exports to the EU are down 21% and imports down 7% (2018-2024). Many businesses in the horticulture sector have scaled back or stopped trading altogether due to increased costs, paperwork and delays at borders.
“This Government is working to make the UK safer, more secure and more prosperous. That’s why we have negotiated a new partnership with the EU. Day in and day out, I hear more stories from businesses – all over the country – about how the current arrangements simply don’t work. Our agreement with the EU will get food and flowers into and out of the country faster, saving businesses precious time and money. Britain will once again take pride in being a nation of shopkeepers, well-stocked, open for business and ready to trade across Europe,” said, EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas Symonds.
Part of the delegation, the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) highlighted the role of UK environmental horticulture in trade discussions, and the need for progress on an SPS agreement to ease EU plant imports. Fran Barnes, Chief Executive of the HTA said:
“The Minister’s visit, to hear first-hand from HTA members and businesses on the challenges they face on a daily basis as a result of border friction, is both welcome and timely. The 19 May commitment to deliver an ambitious and comprehensive new UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, inclusive of plants, could not be more welcome, nor come soon enough. We urge both sides to work with us and quickly, to get the detail settled and to deliver real change for growers, gardeners, and garden centres across the country. The current border regime has and continues to cause uncertainty and huge cost on our members’ businesses.
“We are optimistic about what can be achieved through a new SPS agreement and want to work proactively and in partnership to ensure our sector has a strong voice in shaping an outcome that safeguards biosecurity, restores business confidence, and supports long-term competitiveness for us here and for our supply-chains.”
At the first UK/EU Summit in May, the UK and the EU agreed to slash costs and red tape for businesses that trade food and plant products with the EU. As part of a deal, phytosanitary certificates will be scrapped, saving firms around £25 per certificate, as will routine border checks on goods. It will also cut paperwork and save businesses time on admin.
The UK imported £748.2 million of plants and plant material last year; 99% of these imports came from EU countries. The agreement has no time limit to provide much needed, certainty for businesses. It will also bring significant benefits to goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which will see fewer checks at the border.
