Flower and plant exports concerned by new inspections at the British border

NOS News•today, 12:10

From tomorrow, all European freight loads of fresh products must be checked directly for diseases at the British border. This concerns milk and meat, but also flowers and plants. Dutch exporters of flowers and plants expect delays of days and believe that British consumers will soon pay a lot more.

Since Brexit, Dutch flowers and plants have to be checked here, but also in the United Kingdom (UK). Until now, this was allowed in the vicinity of the delivery address in thousands places in the UK.

That will change tomorrow. The many checkpoints at the destination are exchanged for a few central points at (air)ports. For flowers and plants, this means that the inspection now takes place immediately when the load is taken off the ferry.

This is in addition to an earlier increase in the inspection. Until three months ago, only so-called high-risk products had to be inspected, such as flower bulbs that are more likely to carry germs. Meanwhile, merchandise where this risk is smaller must also be checked, for example cut flowers and certain plants.

Fewer inspection points and more inspections are making the Dutch flower and plant sector nervous. The Netherlands exports as many flowers and plants to no other country outside the EU as to the UK. This amounts to approximately 900 million euros out of a total export value of approximately 7 billion. The Netherlands only exports more to Germany, around 1.6 billion.

Leon Verschoor of Royal Lemkes from Bleiswijk has been one of the larger exporters to the UK for decades. He supplies palm plants, olive trees, cacti and orchids, among other things, to the larger chains of home furnishing stores and do-it-yourself stores.

“The British consumer loves plants,” says Verschoor. But trade has been under pressure for some time. “Brexit has resulted in enormous administration. This has a major cost effect, while the safety and health of the plants do not gain anything. The exact same check is done twice within 24 hours.”

The company transports its goods by boat to Felixstowe and Immingham. Verschoor fears long lines: “We have tested the new rules. We see that it takes us 1.5 to 2 hours to unload a truck. About 150 trucks come off the boat. If those trucks remain standing for too long, molds appear on the plants and you can throw them away.”

The British inspection service APHA states in writing that the inspections at the destination have always been temporary. The service wants to compensate for the lack of inspection capacity in the ports by not checking everything. Cargoes that are more likely to import diseases will be singled out more often than other transports. This appears to mean that the high-risk policy that had been abolished a few months earlier is returning to practice.

The Association of Wholesalers of Flower Nursery Products (VGB) does not find this answer satisfactory. “Several thousand checks inland are being exchanged for only a number of checkpoints at the ports,” says chairman Tim Roozendaal.

“We are happy that the inspection recognizes that there is not enough capacity, but it is too vague. Will I be inspected? How long do I have to wait? What are the costs? That uncertainty casts a shadow over the sector.”

Roozendaal expects that British consumers will see this uncertainty reflected in the price of flowers and plants. His trade association has sent a letter to London detailing concerns about costs and waiting times. He wants the EU and the UK to quickly reach agreements on this.

There are also concerns on the British side. RBF is the company responsible for customs clearance at the port of Felixstowe, i.e. providing the freight with the correct paperwork that allows it to travel further into the country. According to RBF director Jon Beech, the inspectors’ working hours do not correspond with the peak hours of incoming freight, which are mainly at night.

“There is a complete lack of clarity around the costs and the volume of inspections,” Beech said. He thinks it will be a big gamble for carriers as to what will happen. “Exporters will soon close their eyes, pray to God and hope that things will work out.”