Brussels Reset Puts Jenney’s Border Warning Centre Stage
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
The UK and EU have confirmed a new summit in Brussels on 22 July to discuss the next stage of the long-promised post-Brexit “reset” — but for Britain’s fresh produce industry, the real test is no longer whether politicians can agree warmer words. It is whether they can protect the food supply chain that keeps the nation fed.
According to The Guardian, the summit has been delayed several times amid difficult talks over a youth mobility scheme, with discussions now expected to focus on closer UK-EU cooperation, including a food and farm produce trade agreement designed to remove red tape and physical checks on exports into the EU.
For many sectors, that may sound like welcome progress. But Fresh Produce Consortium Chief Executive Nigel Jenney has already identified the danger hidden beneath the headline.
While government presents the proposed UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement as a route to smoother trade with Europe, Jenney has warned that the deal risks solving one border problem by creating a far bigger one elsewhere. His central concern is clear: easing trade with the EU must not come at the expense of the global supply chains that provide British consumers with fruit, vegetables, plants and flowers all year round.
FPC analysis warns that up to four million tonnes of imported goods — around half of the UK’s fresh produce imports — could fall within the scope of expanded controls if EU-style border measures are imposed on Rest of World supply chains. These could include increased inspections, additional phytosanitary certification, expanded pre-notification, extra compliance systems, post-import checks and costly operational delays.
That is not a theoretical risk. For perishable goods such as citrus, mangoes, blueberries, sweet potatoes, peppers and many more, time is quality. Every additional form, fee, inspection or hold-up at the border can reduce shelf life, increase waste, disrupt availability and push costs through the chain.
FPC estimates the additional burden on the sector at more than £300 million, covering government fees, certification costs, logistics, spoilage and new reporting systems. Ultimately, those costs do not disappear into Whitehall paperwork. They land on businesses first, and consumers soon after.
Jenney’s argument is not anti-reset. It is pro-reality.
The fresh produce sector wants a practical trading relationship with the EU. It wants unnecessary friction removed. It wants sensible, risk-based systems that support growth, resilience and affordability. But it is warning ministers that a reset with Brussels cannot be judged a success if it simultaneously makes it harder, slower and more expensive to import essential produce from the rest of the world.
The UK already operates a risk-based SPS system which, according to FPC, achieves 99.5% compliance across around 40,000 consignments annually. Under the proposed approach, an estimated 120,000 annual consignments could become subject to potential physical inspection at the UK border, with some goods facing 100% inspection.
That is the point Jenney has forced onto the table: Britain cannot build food security by narrowing its supply options.
As political leaders prepare for another high-profile summit, the fresh produce industry is being asked to place its faith in a diplomatic reset. Jenney, however, is demanding something more valuable than diplomacy: evidence, urgency and common sense.
The Brussels meeting may offer ministers a chance to claim progress on post-Brexit relations. But unless the Government listens to the industry now, that progress could come with a heavy price tag for importers, retailers and shoppers.
For Britain’s fresh produce sector, the message is blunt. A UK-EU reset must not become a Rest of World roadblock. And thanks to Jenney’s intervention, that warning can no longer be quietly filed away in the ministerial in-tray.
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