Uncertainty over Brexit has led a Norfolk commercial tulip grower to begin to stockpile bulbs imported from the Netherlands.
Belmont Nurseries, based in Terrington St Clement, the largest growers of outdoor tulips in the UK, produces about 75 million bulbs a year, growing 37 varieties of tulip and other flowers on fields in Norfolk.
Nursery director Mark Eves said the uncertain future of the UK’s relationship with the European Union meant it brought forward Dutch imports as a “buffer”.
“The bulbs are very sensitive to not having fresh air blown through them when you are storing them,” he said. “So if hearing the horror stories of one piece of paperwork at the ports costing us an extra 24 hours to get a lorry through that is going to cause some major issues.
“So we have brought forward a lot of what we were going to import to ensure that they are here and if there are any problems at the ports we have that buffer until such time as it is sorted out."