Proven Solutions Ignored as New Border Controls and Costs Loom
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More Border Friction. More Food Inflation. Same Warnings Ignored! The Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) has warned that the government’s latest guidance on the proposed UK–EU SPS arrangements reveals an increasingly politically driven and EU-focused approach to trade policy that risks imposing substantial new costs, complexity and border friction across the UK food supply chain.  While the government has highlighted measures designed to ease certain aspects of UK-EU trade, FPC says the wider operational reality is that the burden is simply being shifted onto critical global supply routes through the introduction of unnecessary EU-style controls on imports from the Rest of the World (RoW). The industry body estimates the changes could ultimately add more than £300 million in additional costs primarily on the UK fresh produce sector The government’s newly published guidance confirms that UK will align with EU SPS rules on Rest of World imports, introducing increased inspections, additional phytosanitary certification requirements, expanded pre-notification obligations and wider compliance measures on goods entering the UK from non-EU countries — despite those products being destined solely for UK consumption. FPC says this represents a significant policy shift away from the UK’s existing science-based and risk-led border regime, which has operated successfully since Brexit and already delivers exceptionally high compliance outcomes. The organisation argues that these are controls the UK consciously chose not to adopt after leaving the EU because the government’s own scientific authorities did not consider them necessary. At the same time, the government has confirmed that there will no longer be border checks on plants moving between Great Britain and the EU, while phytosanitary certificates for movements to the EU will also be removed. Import checks on plants and plant products entering Great Britain from the EU will stop, although some post-import checks and notification requirements will continue to apply for specific plant categories. FPC acknowledges that these measures could provide operational benefits for certain UK importers and exporters and help reduce friction on EU trade flows. However, the organisation warns that those benefits are being achieved by knowingly transferring new cost and complexity onto highly efficient global supply chains that currently underpin UK food security. Nigel Jenney, Chief Executive of the Fresh Produce Consortium, said: “The government continues to present this agreement as a solution that will reduce barriers and simplify trade. However, the detail emerging from its own guidance tells a very different story. “What we are seeing is a selective and politically driven ‘pick and mix’ approach to trade policy — highlighting the benefits of EU alignment while failing to acknowledge the very significant burdens now being imposed elsewhere across the supply chain. “For the fresh produce sector, this does not remove friction or cost. It simply relocates it.” FPC has repeatedly warned that the UK fresh produce sector depends on a balanced supply model combining domestic production with reliable global imports. Around half of the UK’s fresh produce is sourced from the Rest of the World, helping ensure year-round availability, affordability and consumer choice. The organisation also points out that imports from the Rest of the World already achieve more than 99.5% compliance across approximately 120,000 consignments annually under the UK’s current border regime. FPC says the latest guidance instead confirms:
According to FPC analysis, up to 4 million tonnes of imported goods — around 50% of UK imports — could fall within the scope of expanded EU-style SPS controls. Jenney added: “The concern is not cooperation with Europe. FPC supports pragmatic solutions that genuinely improve trade and strengthen resilience. “The concern is that government appears prepared to impose a more rigid and protectionist EU-style system without properly assessing the wider consequences for UK food security, supply chain resilience and consumer affordability. “The UK already operates a proven, proportionate and science-based SPS regime. Replacing that with a more bureaucratic and method-based system delivers no measurable biosecurity benefit while creating significant additional cost and complexity. “On behalf of members we have repeatedly offered practical and workable solutions that would improve UK-EU trade flows without compromising vital Rest of World supply chains. Those solutions appear once again to have been knowingly ignored by the Government.” FPC also questioned whether sufficient consideration has been given to the practical implications of extending inspections across millions of tonnes of highly perishable produce entering the UK each year. “We have been here before,” said Jenney. “The sector has repeatedly warned government about avoidable border friction, operational disruption and escalating cost — only to see those warnings realised later. “Serious questions remain about the practical reality, infrastructure requirements, inspection capacity and cost implications of applying expanded controls to millions of tonnes of highly perishable fresh produce when the current system is already delivering exceptionally high compliance outcomes.” FPC warned that the UK cannot simply “grow its way out” of food security challenges and that domestic production and global imports must continue to work together as part of a resilient long-term supply strategy. “The danger is that current policy risks undermining that balance rather than strengthening it,” Jenney said. The organisation is calling on government to publish a full independent impact assessment before committing to any final SPS alignment measures and to engage formally with the fresh produce sector on practical alternatives that protect both EU trade and vital global supply routes.
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