Potato Review

www.potatoreview.com POTATO REVIEW JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 33 BREXIT FOCUS WHAT ABOUT RESTRICTIONS ON POTATO IMPORTS INTO THE UK? From 1 January 2021, “high-priority plants” such as seed and ware potatoes imported into the UK must have a phytosanitary certi cate, a pre-noti cation submitted by the importer in England, Scotland or Wales, documentary and identity checks and a physical inspection, explained Patrick. Further steps would be required from 1 April and from 1 July 2021,” he added. Many of the same concerns about additional inspections, increased paperwork and costs, and border delays were therefore equally relevant to imports as well as exports, Emily said. “We do know for the rst six months those checks can take place at the registered point of destination, so a business, but after that they will move to a border control point,” Emily said. e UK had agreed that EU seed potatoes will continue to be marketable in England and Wales for six months from 1 Jan, Patrick said. “In e ect, the UK is recognising EU certi cation as equivalence for the next six months. e varieties will need to be on the GB or Northern Irish variety list.” It was hoped that this decision would be seen as an olive branch within the EU, and help with achieving equivalency for exports to the EU, Sandy suggested. How should you prepare? ere were a number of measures potato businesses could take to help prepare for the changes coming, according to speakers at the webinars. Emily’s number one suggestion was to risk assess your supply chain. “I would look across your whole supply chain. ink about any inputs, where they come from, and speak to your suppliers. ere’s going to be a huge demand on logistics over the next few months, so think about those types of risks. “Equally, think about your crop – where does it go, who is your customer and speak to them about the new controls and requirements. Have you looked at your contract, and thought about any liability for increased costs from tari s, for example? Are there any pinch points where there might be delays and think how you might mitigate – for example getting in products early or increased storage.” With so much uncertainty, it was tempting to wait and see what happened before making any preparations, particularly in case of a no-deal exit, acknowledged Sarah. “Waiting though is a high-risk strategy. “ ere is a wealth of information on our website, but the two things I would point towards are the characteristics of top-performing farms and understanding your markets. “Our analysis shows that the top 25% of any sector, including potatoes, will remain pro table even under the most challenging of scenarios. So look at what those growers are doing that di ers from the rest of the sector – a lot of those key in uences to performance are within an individual farmers gift. “ e other thing is to know your market, speak to your buyer, know your customer and market trends and understand what the challenges will be to be prepared. “If you are going to need to speak to your bank manager, speak to him as soon as possible, because the earlier you can prepare extra borrowing capacity the more favourable the terms probably.” Specific paperwork If you’re an exporter one very practical measure to take, if you hadn’t already, was to apply for an Economic Operator Registration & Identi cation (EORI) code, said Patrick Hughes, head of export trade development for AHDB. “ is is issued by HMRC and is required to move goods between the UK and the EU,” he explained. “Apply online at gov.uk/eori and it usually takes up to ve working days to receive it.” Check whether your intended border control post, which will inspect your exported potatoes, can process your goods, he added. “ ese will have areas of specialism, and also require advance noti cation of goods arriving, so your import agent must submit a pre- noti cation importers declaration.” In addition, the exporter from 1 January will have to submit a customs declaration for all goods and submit safety and security information via a combined export declaration or a standalone ‘Exit Summary Declaration’. “You can do this yourself or hire an agent. Custom processes are complicated, requiring speci c training and software.” Finally, if tari s are imposed on either imports or exports, goods will require a commodity code, which can be found using the UK Trade Tari tool on the Gov.uk website.