According to the government, the upcoming SPS deal between the UK and EU ‘will slash red tape and eliminate costly routine checks for fruit, vegetable, flower and plant traders across the country’.
The claims were made as EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds met with traders at New Covent Garden Market to talk about the issues they have faced getting their produce in and out of the country since 2020. According to the government, the new deal means Britain’s florists, greengrocers, plant traders and garden centres are set to benefit from the removal barriers to trading flowers, fruit, and vegetables, which are predicted to add more than £5 billion a year to the UK economy and increase UK agricultural exports by around 16 per cent.
Since leaving the EU, UK agri-food exports to the bloc are down 21 per cent and imports down seven per cent (between 2018-2024). Many businesses in the horticulture sector have scaled back or stopped trading altogether due to increased costs, paperwork and delays at borders.
During his visit to the market, Nick Thomas Symonds said, “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.”
Fran Barnes, chief executive, at the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), who accompanied the minister, added, “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.”
