London, Sep 9 (EFECOM).- The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, asked his British counterpart, Steve Reed, on Monday to give the United Kingdom advance notice of any changes in border controls on agricultural and food products so that Spanish producers can prepare.
Planas travelled to London today to meet Labour MP Reed for the first time and to take part in a summit of the sector in the British capital.
Speaking to Spanish media at the Embassy, Planas explained that he would suggest to Reed, while respecting British sovereignty, that he give sufficient advance notice of any tightening of entry controls so that producers and exporters can adapt.
“The UK Government can adopt these controls at any time it deems appropriate because it is a non-EU country. What has happened is that, in a very reasonable and sensible way, the United Kingdom has taken into account until now not only the interests of the trade relationship with Spain and the rest of the European Union, but also the supply of its own population,” he said.
Planas described his request as a “courtesy request” so that, as was done before Brexit came into force in 2021, the ministry can work with the Spanish Federation of Food and Beverage Industries (FIAB) to prepare for the new scenario.
Since leaving the EU, the UK has postponed the introduction of controls on fresh fruit and vegetables to prevent price increases and supply problems.
Last week, British media revealed that the new Labour government plans to delay the entry into force of customs controls on fresh fruit and vegetables until July 2025, despite the fact that their implementation was initially planned for 31 October and was later postponed to next January.
Planas acknowledged that Brexit has caused disruption for Spanish exporters, especially small and medium-sized companies, which now need to sell larger quantities to make any shipment to the United Kingdom profitable due to the higher administrative costs involved.
“We have to be very realistic, but what we are trying to do on our part and I think also on the part of the British authorities is to try to minimize this situation for the citizens,” he said, despite which he warned that, since Brexit, Spain “has managed not only to maintain, but to increase the value of what it sells and even increase the volume.”
The Spanish minister recalled that Spain competes on quality but also on price, which means that a quarter of the vegetables consumed in the United Kingdom are Spanish, a percentage that reaches up to 82% in some products such as lettuce.
With 4.82 billion euros, of which 1.1 billion are fruits and vegetables, the British market is “a priority destination” for the Spanish sector, he said.
Regarding the intention of Keir Starmer’s Executive to negotiate with the EU a relaxation of sanitary and phytosanitary controls, Planas defended that Spain maintains “very strict conditions in relation to imports from third countries”, although that is a community prerogative and not a state one.
The agenda of the meeting between the ministers also includes the fisheries agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU, which expires on June 30, 2026, as well as the establishment of marine protected areas in British sovereign waters and their possible impact on the Spanish fishing fleet.
Planas will close his visit to London with a speech at the “Spain Food Nation” food summit, which brings together relevant actors in the sector. EFECOM
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