The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) has written to government ministers with its learnings two weeks into the new border arrangements. The key border change being the overnight shift on 30 April 2024 from Place of Destination (POD) checks to Border Control Points (BCPs) and Control Points (CPs). The government’s ‘pragmatic approach’ means a very low level of plant health inspections, risking biosecurity, hiked costs of importing, and ongoing systems issues causing concern and mounting resource burdens.
The HTA’s letter to Environment Minister Lord Douglas Miller OBE sets out clear asks on the here and now, including system fixes, engagement on costs, clarity on data and a plan for the pragmatic approach to give industry reassurance on the border. The letter goes further and seeks to ensure that along with current challenges being addressed, the longer-term need to have a plan to address BCP capability and sector access to easements, such as AOS or a trusted trader scheme, are also delivered. The HTA calls on ministers to convene a meeting of those involved and impacted by the new border changes.
Fran Barnes, Chief Executive of the HTA, commented:
“We know many in the sector shifted their imports to manage the risks of delays and disruption in the early days of the new changes. We are disappointed that we are still on day one check levels today and see system issues and challenges that are ongoing. Well-reported outages are having a knock-on effect on the plant trade and on the ramping up of checks, and they are causing confusion and a lack of confidence in the border, its operations, and biosecurity.
