A combination of added costs and bureaucracy have led to a marked drop in the value of plant export to European markets from by the UK’s horticultural industry.
According to new research by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), exports of live plants and plant materials from the UK to the EU between January and June this year were valued at £9.7 million, compared with £16 million in the same period of 2019 – a decrease of 39 per cent. Over the same period, sale to the rest of the world have remained broadly static.
According to the HTA, this shows that while the EU is still the largest market for British horticultural products, the industry is not growing as it could, and that new administrative costs and restrictions are resulting in British horticulture businesses choosing not to pursue markets in the EU.
“We had long suspected that this heavy-handed regime would put too many barriers in the way of those who had hoped to grow a customer base in Europe,” said James Clark, Director of Policy and Communications at the HTA. “Much of the £24 billion horticulture industry is made up of small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) who want to champion ‘green trade’ and export the hugely iconic British plants, seeds and trees we produce here. However, the bureaucratic obstacles and huge costs are making it business-sapping and unviable. This is preventing SMEs to grow and lead a post-Brexit trade renaissance.”