Producers and suppliers of ornamental plants and fresh produce have once again urged the government to delay the implementation of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) changes which are due to come into effect from 30 April. They claim the proposals will increase costs, reduce trade and make the importation of many plants, fruit and vegetables unviable.
The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) has written directly to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urging him to take urgent action. In the letter, HTA chairman James Barnes stated: “If these changes come in without any easements, then it represents massive risks to the UK’s horticultural businesses – one of Britain’s green industries. I write to you in the utmost urgency on behalf of UK environmental horticulture requesting your government to act immediately to address the multitude of problems we face with this shift.”
He continued, “The consequences present a dramatic risk to the breadth of UK horticulture businesses (the majority of which are SMEs), jobs, biosecurity, environmental target delivery, and to the choice available to the UK’s 30 million gardeners. The risks are exacerbated by coming in April, in the middle of the peak season for imports in our sector.”
Meanwhile the SPS Certification Working Group, which represents 30 trade different bodies responsible for £100bn of the UK’s food supply, has criticised the new requirement for importers to notify authorities 24 hours before arrival in the UK as ‘unworkable.’
In a letter to Steve Barclay, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the group stated that the requirement for one working day’s pre-notification for perishable, short-shelf-life fresh foods and ingredients from the EU will cause a number of issues, and that a one-day delay to a consignment could lead to a 20% loss in shelf life, making the food unsellable and potentially making it unviable for some EU companies to supply the UK.