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Border checks on fruit and vegetable imports from EU scrapped

02 Jun 2025 2 minute read
Photo Steve Parsons/PA Wire

Planned border checks on fruit and vegetables imported into the UK from the European Union will be scrapped.

The Government has said Sir Keir Starmer’s Brexit reset deal will stop the proposed controls coming into force on July 1.

The produce sector has suggested that halting the plans will save businesses around £200 million of additional supply chain costs.

Inflation

Bosses had warned that this could add to inflation, put pressure on food supply chains and threaten the future of businesses.

The new SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) deal with the EU will eliminate routine border checks for food exports and imports on certain products.

The Government said impending checks on “medium-risk” fruit and vegetables, such as tomatoes, grapes, plums, cherries, peaches and peppers, will now not be introduced.

The latest relaxation in trade rules will take place until January 31 2027 as a “contingency measure”, according to officials.

Cheaper food

Biosecurity minister Baroness Hayman said: “This Government’s EU deal will make food cheaper, slash bureaucracy and remove cumbersome border controls for businesses.

“A strengthened, forward-looking partnership with the European Union will deliver for working people as part of our plan for change.”

It is the fourth time the border check plans have been pushed back, with the proposals previously set to come into force in January.

The checks on fruit and vegetables were the latest phase of the Government’s Border Target Operating Model which introduced checks on animal and plant products last year.


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4 Comments
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Catherine Griffiths
Catherine Griffiths
1 month ago

So what happens to the Remote Border Control Post currently being built in Holyhead for this purpose?

Peter J
Peter J
1 month ago

There were never any checks, and anyone in the know knew that there were never going to be. It was always going to be a waste of money

theoriginalmark
theoriginalmark
1 month ago

perhaps they could get planning permission to build luxury holiday apartments?
(sarcasm)

theoriginalmark
theoriginalmark
1 month ago

Question is, will the consumer see a difference at the tills, or will the supermarkets just divert the money to their shareholders

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