Farming: Anger as UK Government delays border controls again
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Reports that the UK Government is to further delay introducing post-Brexit border controls on animal and plant products imported from the EU will anger and appal the Scottish food and farming sector according to President Martin Kennedy.
Mr Kennedy writes - It is a decision that seriously disregards the interests of our home food producers in favour of a cheap food policy that encourages asymmetric trade and it flies in the face of commitments made at the ‘Farm to Fork’ summit in Downing Street in May.
A formal announcement on the delay and a fresh timescale for introducing border checks and controls is expected from the UK Government.
However, its lax approach to border controls continues to leave farmers and crofters exposed to the introduction of devastating animal and plant diseases such as African Swine Fever.
It also leaves our food and drink exporters jumping through the hoops of a full border check to get our produce into the EU while those sending their goods here from Europe continue to do so at a competitive advantage.
This continuing asymmetric trade devalues any claims lauding the Trade and Cooperation Agreement by the UK Government.
For the UK Government to ‘kick the can down the road’ on Border controls for a fourth time is seriously disappointing.
Since January 2021, we have been reassured on several occasions that a robust, reliable system delivering proper border checks on food, with additional measures verifying the health and safety of meat products will be delivered.
It now appears that the most recent legislative timeline that would have had a new Border target operating model (TOM) rolled out from October 31, with physical checks on imports starting in January 2024 and a full regime in place by October 2024, is also going to be missed.
The longer there is no effective system in place, the greater the distortion of the market for UK producers – with importers facing less bureaucracy and cost than those looking to export produce from the UK to EU - and the longer our borders are left open to the potential introduction of plant and animal diseases.
We understand that the UK Government will shortly set out the new timetable for the import regime, to finally deliver a level playing field for UK farming, food and drink sectors.
Regrettably, there will be little confidence amongst industry that the timetable will be adhered to.
