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AIC | Council of the European Union Authorises Negotiations on SPS Agreement

While headlines have focused on subjects like; the Windsor Framework for the trade between the UK and Northern Ireland; animal welfare and the movement of meat products; the shortage of some fresh produce goods on supermarket shelves; or simply, higher prices leading to the ‘Cost of Living Crisis’, the lack of an agreement on the common sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) arrangements for the movement of agricultural produce between the UK and the EU has been at the heart of these issues ever since Brexit. Therefore, a ‘green light’ to commence these SPS negotiations is a huge step in the right direction for the UK as a whole, and UK agriculture in particular, and Premium Crops support their trade association, AIC, in these negotiations.

Looking at Plant Protection Products (PPP’s) and crop varieties alone, a working SPS agreement promises to restore a level playing field for UK farmers compared with their EU counterparts. Without such an agreement, the status quo risks seeing the EU getting applications for the registration of novel PPP’s and plant varieties sooner than the UK, as manufacturers and plant breeders chase the larger market opportunities that the EU represents. In some cases, we may never see UK approval of some of those PPPs and varieties that are otherwise freely available to EU farmers. This situation is even more acute when it comes to Minor and Speciality Crops. Over the last 5 years we have already seen UK innovation and investment in minor crops stifled by the lack of access to EU registered varieties.

The requirement to convert UK or EU Certified Seed to OECD Certified Seed, simply to get it across the English Channel, has added additional costs to both exporters and importers, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of orders lost because of the delays associated with getting seed converted to OECD labelling. The fact that OECD,UK and EU Certified Seed standards are, to all intents and purposes, identical, means that these losses, delays, and duplication of effort are entirely due to pointless red tape and bureaucracy, that a working SPS agreement should do away with.

Phytosanitary regulation is in the title of the SPS agreement, and that too has seen unnecessary duplication and added costs as a result of Brexit. In the case of both oilseed rape and linseed, the Phytosanitary standards for seed borne diseases are effectively identical to the standards required for Seed Certification, and yet the Plant Health inspectors at the border won’t recognise the Certification labels on the seed bags as evidence of those tests. The result is that the same tests have to be duplicated to create another piece of paper to enable the import / export of that seed.

While the protection of the general public, the environment and the UK agricultural industry remain paramount, through the correct application of appropriate Sanitary and Phytosanitary rules a successful round of SPS negotiations should see the restoration of common sense regulations that work effectively and efficiently for everyone.