The United Kingdom is preparing to revise its import procedures for CITES-regulated plants, following a consultation on CITES import permits. The Dutch Floricultural Wholesale Board (VGB) has welcomed the recently published response from the UK government, which outlines plans to ease requirements for artificially propagated plants.
During the consultation, VGB and Union Fleurs advocated for the removal of mandatory import permits for artificially propagated plants. In its response, the UK government indicates that it intends to revise the import process by introducing low-risk lists. Products included on these lists will no longer require an import permit; a digital import notification will suffice. Artificially propagated plants are specifically mentioned as eligible for this simplified procedure.
Cost savings
The removal of the permit requirement is expected to eliminate approximately 3,000 import applications per year for these products. This would result in estimated annual savings of around £97,000.
For certain frequently traded Annex B products, a simplified export procedure already applies in the Netherlands. For a selection of plants artificially propagated within the EU, the export permit can be replaced by an annotation on the phytosanitary certificate.
Growth opportunities
According to VGB, many member companies have reduced or completely ceased exports of CITES-regulated products to the United Kingdom due to complex regulations, particularly those relating to import permits. In addition to reducing compliance costs, the proposed simplification is expected to create growth opportunities by making trade in these products more straightforward.
Timeline
The UK government has not yet published a concrete timeline for the implementation of these changes. VGB is monitoring developments and will inform its members and other stakeholders once further details, including the entry into force, become available.
For more information:
VGB
[email protected]
https://www.vgb.nl/
