-
The
upcoming UK/EU SPS deal will slash red tape and eliminate
costly routine checks for fruit, vegetable, flower and plant
traders across the country
-
The deal will boost the vital £38
billion UK environmental horticulture industry alone,
supporting an estimated 722,000 jobs.
-
Agreement will
reverse the hit to trade since Brexit, forging strategic new
trade links with our largest agri-food market.
Today (16 July 2025), EU Relations Minister met with traders at
New Covent Garden Market in London—the UK's largest wholesale
market for fruit, vegetables, flowers and plants—to talk about
the issues they have faced getting their produce in and out of
the country since 2020.
Home to over 137 businesses generating a combined annual turnover
of £944 million and supporting over 2,500 jobs, the historic
37-acre market site in Nine Elms supplies up to 40% of all fresh
produce consumed outside the home in London and supplies 75% of
all London florists.
Following the inaugural UK-EU Summit in May, Britain's florists,
greengrocers, plant traders and garden centres are now set to
benefit from a food and plant deal with the EU, which will remove
barriers to trading flowers, fruit, and vegetables. It will add
more than £5 billion a year to the UK economy and increase UK
agricultural exports by around 16%.
Since leaving the EU, UK agri-food exports to the bloc are down
21% and imports down 7% (2018-2024). Many businesses in the
horticulture sector have scaled back or stopped trading
altogether due to increased costs, paperwork and delays at
borders. Some products, like fresh burgers and sausages, cannot
be traded at all, while others are subject to burdensome checks.
EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas Symonds said:
“This Government is working to make the UK safer, more secure and
more prosperous. That's why we have negotiated a new partnership
with the EU.
“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.”
“Britain will once again take pride in being a nation of
shopkeepers, well-stocked, open for business and ready to trade
across Europe.”
Fran Barnes, Chief Executive, at the Horticultural Trades
Association (HTA) said:
“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.”
At the first UK/EU Summit in May, the UK and the EU agreed to
slash costs and red tape for businesses that trade food and plant
products with the EU. As part of a deal, phytosanitary
certificates will be scrapped, saving firms around £25 per
certificate, as will routine border checks on goods. It will also
cut paperwork and save businesses time on admin.
The UK imported £748.2 million of plants and plant material last
year, 99% of these imports came from EU countries.
This agreement will have no time limit, giving vital certainty to
businesses. It will also bring significant benefits to goods
moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which will see
fewer checks at the border.
Editors notes
*https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/articles/environmental-horticulture-report
