Struggling South Holland, UK, growers want the government to cut trade barriers to boost the £250 million horticulture sector. Employers in the industry say new ‘green tape’ is adding to problems they are facing with shortages of staff and transport.
From June 1 new fees were added to import inspections - adding to the post-Brexit certificates and inspections required from January.
Henry Bingham, of Crossroads Nurseries in Quadring, said this means new fees of about £270 an order for goods such as plants and trees. He said: “There’s a combination of everything at the moment - a lack of staff, lack of transport and we now have to pay more to import things.
“The only thing that has changed is that we have left the EU. The product has not changed but now we have got to pay £270. Basically the people this is going to affect are small businesses rather than the large ones who can pool resources together - it’s easier to offset extra charges across more and more product.”
Latest figures on the horticulture industry suggest that South Holland’s flower and plant sales are worth £150 million a year - while field vegetables also contribute a further £100 million.
The Horticultural Trades Association has begun a campaign to call for a UK-EU deal to ditch the red tape, which it says could turn the industry into a post-Brexit success story.
Mr Bingham said: “The government very rarely listen to horticulture and agriculture but the more voices that are talking the better. Horticulture and agriculture are seen as low down jobs - they are more interested in the financial markets and things like that.”
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