From the Guardian · · 2m
UK-EU plant trade deal to cut £60m annual costs
Angela Eagle says a post-Brexit agreement will remove border checks and paperwork for horticulture imports when signed on 20 November, though businesses cannot recoup past spending.
In brief
Angela Eagle says a post-Brexit agreement will remove border checks and paperwork for horticulture imports when signed on 20 November, though businesses cannot recoup past spending. A UK-EU trade deal signed on 20 November will remove border checks on plant imports, saving the horticulture industry £60m annually, but…
£60m in annual costs will vanish
Environment secretary Angela Eagle says removing border checks and paperwork on plant imports will dissolve sixty million pounds of yearly costs for the horticulture industry when the UK-EU deal takes effect.
“all of that uncertainty, the extra cost, the paperwork and the potential problems if things get stuck at borders would all disappear”
Deal signed 20 November at UK-EU summit
The sanitary and phytosanitary agreement, largely agreed in May, will be signed at next week's summit. It removes most physical checks and accompanying certificates and paperwork on plant, food and animal imports.
What the savings cover
The sixty million pounds annual saving includes plant health inspection fees, phytosanitary certificates, document and ID checks, port fees, agents' fees, additional labour costs and extra haulage costs, according to the Horticultural Trades Association.
Brexit already cost the horticulture sector
Border checks introduced after Brexit triggered the removal of plants, food and animal products from UK-EU trade. Exports of British food and drink to the EU have collapsed by more than a third since Brexit.
Provender Nurseries spent £500,000 preparing
The Kent-based wholesale nursery, one of the UK's largest, built a post-Brexit control post on its eight-hectare site and bought four electric forklifts to inspect imported trees and shrubs, work that will become obsolete.
“It cost a lot for a barn, but it gave us security as a business”
Managing director wants to see small print
Richard McKenna of Provender Nurseries hopes the deal will convince European suppliers to restart exports, but says the business needs to see the small print on the agreement before committing further.
“We need to see the small print on the agreement”
Implementation delayed to first quarter 2028
The deal will not take effect until the first quarter of 2028, more than a year later than the mid-2027 target announced when Keir Starmer unveiled his EU reset deal in May 2025.
Pesticide issue complicates implementation
The UK continues to use pesticides and fungicides banned in the EU. British potatoes grown in 2027 and treated with these pesticides could need to be thrown away if frozen chips went on sale after…
Seed potato exporters await deal restart
Adam Taylor, director of Taylors Bulbs in Lincolnshire, says the business set up an Irish operation to keep supplying the Republic of Ireland after Brexit halted seed potato exports.
“When things go back closer to how they were before Brexit, I hope our Irish customer base will reflect on the loyalty given to them”
What to remember
A UK-EU trade deal signed on 20 November will remove border checks on plant imports, saving the horticulture industry £60m annually, but will not recover costs firms already spent on post-Brexit compliance.