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Farm union condemns new delay to animal health border checks as 'utter madness'


By Alan Hendry

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NFU Scotland president Martin Kennedy: 'We are working with hands tied behind our backs.' Picture: Paul Watt
NFU Scotland president Martin Kennedy: 'We are working with hands tied behind our backs.' Picture: Paul Watt

Plans by the UK government to delay animal and plant health checks on goods coming in from the EU have been branded "utter madness" by Scotland's farming union.

The new controls regime will not come into force until the end of 2023, with the government taking the view that it would be wrong to impose new administrative requirements on businesses that may pass on the associated costs to consumers.

NFU Scotland points out that those exporting goods from the UK to the EU have faced "costly and time-consuming" checks on goods since the end of Brexit transition in January 2021. The UK government has now postponed introducing similar checks on goods entering the UK from the EU for a fourth time, "handing a competitive advantage to other food-producing nations that will now stretch to over three years", according to the union.

NFU Scotland is also concerned that the lack of border checks on imported EU pork presents an unacceptable risk to health and welfare, with the highly contagious African swine fever (ASF) present in parts of mainland Europe.

Union president Martin Kennedy said: “The prolonged failure of the UK government to place UK food exporters on an even keel with those exporting goods to the UK from Europe shows an astonishing level of incompetence and failure to support Scottish producers and our food and drink sector.

"They are now proposing to kick the can down the road for a further 18 months with the intention of introducing a ‘digital solution’ that hasn’t even been created, let alone trialled.

“The UK government is making it easy for imports to the valuable UK market while Scottish food exporters continue to face extensive paperwork and long queues to get their goods to the EU. It is utter madness.

"We are working with hands tied behind our backs while our government makes it easy for our competitors.

“It is estimated that, for those looking to export Scottish beef, lamb or pork to Europe, Brexit and new cross-border checks have added an additional six per cent to our costs – a cost that those looking to export similar goods here from Europe do not have to face due to the government failing to introduce similar controls.

“These checks are absolutely crucial to our biosecurity, animal health and food safety and without them we are leaving ourselves at risk. Scotland’s pig sector is being left vulnerable to African swine fever, a disease that would wipe out our pig production if contaminated pork products were to arrive on our shores.

"Our pig producers are on record calling for the threat from ASF to be raised from ‘moderate’ to ‘high’ and for UK retailers to seriously reconsider where in Europe they are choosing to import pork from.

“The UK government’s failure to deliver proper sanitary and phytosanitary checks on goods coming in from the EU, and creating a level playing field, is frustrating and disappointing and we will be seeking urgent discussions with government ministers about this decision when we are in Westminster in early May.

“On that visit, we will also continue to pursue with the UK government the unacceptable situation where, 16 months post-Brexit, Scotland’s high-value, high-health seed potatoes remain locked out of valuable European markets.”

The UK government says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the rise in global energy costs "have had a significant effect on supply chains that are still recovering from the pandemic". It says the move is likely to save British importers at least £1 billion in annual costs.

The government is developing a UK Single Trade Window, described as "a new digital platform that will help traders to more easily move goods globally".

The minister for Brexit opportunities, Jacob Rees-Mogg, said: "This will allow British businesses to focus on their recovery from the pandemic, navigate global supply chain issues and ensure that new costs are not passed on to consumers.

"It’s vital that we have the right import controls regime in place, so we’ll now be working with industry to review these remaining controls so that they best suit the UK’s own interests.

"We want the process for importing goods from the EU to be safe, secure and efficient and we want to harness innovative new technologies to streamline processes and reduce frictions. It’s precisely because of Brexit that we’re able to build this UK-focused system."


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