The tomato sector is the latest branch of UK horticulture to criticise the government’s planned checks under the Border Target Operating Model which are currently due to come into effect from 30 April 2024.
Simon Conway, chair of the British Tomato Growers’ Association (BTGA), warned FreshPlaza, “There are big doubts about the capacity and the capability of the control points. It’s going to take time, cause delays, and stir up the costs for growers, while biosecurity cannot be guaranteed.”
One of the new requirements is that all young plants must be inspected at a Border Control Point (BCP). However, there are concerns that concentrating plant material in a few such locations could actually increase the spread of diseases, while the sector, which is based on ‘just-in-time’ deliveries, worries that
“Our main concern is the time of the year when we’re importing young plants. Approximately 40 to 50% of protected edible growers import plants from Holland,” says Simon. “Our concerns are about delays and biosecurity. For this season, the growers are good, as planting happens once a year, but the next season will take place under the new regime… The costs for lorry delays are currently £70 per hour. With lorries queuing up, costs will accumulate rapidly.”
He continued, “These inspections themselves are going to take time, and concerns arise about the inspection capacity. We’ve already seen lorries queuing up at check points. Just last month, a pepper grower faced issues with missing documents, causing delays at the ports. Even under the current system plants can be held. Imagine the complexity of the 100% checks, especially with lorries queuing up. Plants would have to be transported to the control point, unpacked, inspected, and reloaded. A 100% inspection is going to take a lot of time, especially with countless loads on a daily basis.”
There are also concerns about biosecurity. “Plant raisers have really good biosecurity, as do growers. But when plants are all put in a big warehouse, there’s no control there,” Simon explained. “Young plants also need a strict temperature regime – putting them in a cold warehouse for 24 hours would severely damage them.
“We’ve seen from studies that if you buy imported tomatoes from high risk countries in a store, there is a risk the virus will be on your hands. If an inspector visits the warehouse, the risk of transmitting is very high – even while wearing gloves. Plant raisers have complete awareness about this and have strict biosecurity protocols in place, but with these checkpoints, there’s a major risk.”