Andy Maddock, IPP’s regional managing director, considers whether the new UK/EU deal signals the end of delays over border food classification.
There is a lot to be welcomed around the new round of post-Brexit arrangements, signed last month between the UK and the EU and aimed at removing the bureaucratic border control which have seen a 21% drop in exports and a 7% fall in imports.
But the jury remains out over some of the stickier friction points – not least the continuation of uncertainty over the much-maligned Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), the rules introduced just over a year ago to govern the biosecurity of fresh produce entering the UK.
There is a general business entente cordiale over reduced checks on animal and plant shipments with the new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, allowing the UK to at last sell raw burgers and sausages back into the EU for the first time since Brexit. However, BTOM remains in place, albeit not necessarily for the long term.
When it was introduced in April 2024, BTOM saw disagreements over increased costs and operational viability, with the consequential delays resulting in fruit and veg literally going off on the quaysides while waiting for an ‘all-clear’ certificate.
This was because all plant and animal products coming from the EU were placed into three risk groups: high, medium and low – with the then-UK government placing many fruit and vegetable imports into the medium risk category, meaning multi-page documentation had to be provided regarding provenance and safety.
With most fresh produce arriving in the UK in mixed loads, questions were raised around potential delays and how to unpick the consignments in a timely fashion, particularly with question marks over the numbers of inspectors mandated to issue phytosanitary certificates at the border.
At the time, the Fresh Produce Consortium warned the process would add £200 million in additional import costs, which would negatively impact small fruit and veg enterprises and ultimately be passed onto British consumers.
So where are we now? At this point in time, that remains unclear. The government has said some routine checks on animal and plant products will be removed completely, which could lower food prices and increase choice on supermarket shelves.
It also said it had secured a new SPS agreement to “…slash red tape for UK seafood exporters and businesses and reopen the EU market to GB shellfish from certain domestic waters.”
However, the statement also said traders must continue to comply with the BTOM until further notice.
The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) has been strongly advocating for a new UK-EU SPS agreement, particularly one that includes plant health provisions. It believes such an agreement would significantly benefit the industry by streamlining trade, reducing costs and maintaining or even enhancing biosecurity.
But, like the FPC, the HTA has expressed concerns about the current border regime, which has caused significant disruption and increased costs for horticultural businesses.
We seem to have taken a step forward in talking about slashing red tape around fresh and raw meat, but at the very same time we are slavishly adhering to a measure that all industry groups argue creates delays on plant-based products.
As a business involved in the circular and sustainable supply chain, we understand the dynamics of the right product arriving at the right time at the right place and at the right cost. Every time a product is stopped or touched, it adds cost and delay, neither of which are affordable when it comes to perishable produce.
We are working tirelessly with the pallet poolers in the UK&I alongside the Timber Packaging & Pallet Confederation (TIMCOM), the European Federation of Wooden Pallet and Packaging Manufacturers (FEFPEB) and the Closed Loop Pallet Pools Confederation (CPPC) to explore any opportunities to reduce the regulatory and cost burden to our industry.
When we talk about ‘farm to fork,’ this particular fresh produce, which many of our customers depend on, ceases to be shelf-ready when it does not arrive in a just grown or picked fashion.
BTOM may not stick around long-term, as its shelf life is certainly past its best according to industry bodies, but it looks as though it may continue to create a stink in the short to medium term.
Whatever the future, these post-Brexit fruit and veg rules need fresh consideration rather than unnecessary composting or sitting at the bottom of a civil service in-tray.
