Summary
In April 2019 the government of Uganda introduced a self-imposed ban on exports of sub-standard vegetables to Europe. This needs to be seen in the context of the stricter application of EU SPS controls. This includes controls for False Codling Moth (FCM) which was designated as a ‘quarantine pest’ by the EU from 1st January 2018. This saw 2/3 of all EU SPS interceptions of Ugandan exports arising from FCM infestations in 2018. Despite the four-fold increase in the value of Ugandan floriculture and horticulture exports to the EU since 2010, serious questions arise as to the commercial sustainability of attaining conformity with EU SPS requirements. Experience in South Africa highlights how costly establishing a comprehensive system based approach to SPS controls can be. Even where export values are more than 10 times those attained by Ugandan exporters this can prove commercially challenging. Critical to enhancing the effectiveness and reducing the unit cost of SPS control measures will be improved organisation of private sector producers and improved public/private sector cooperation in ensuring compliance with EU SPS requirements. Read more “Increased Levels of Pest Interception in Uganda Leads to Pre-Emptive Export Ban”
Category: SPS / Food safety
New Tanzanian Air Link to UK Could Help Side Step No-Deal Brexit Threat to Horticulture Exports to UK Via the Netherlands
Summary
Negotiations with ATCL to expand air-freight services to the UK could offer a means for Tanzanian horticulture and floriculture exporters to side step the potential disruptions to shipments along triangular supply chains, which could arise under a no-deal Brexit. In products such as cut flowers and avocadoes the Netherlands and France represent important trading hubs and initial ports of landing for expanding Tanzanian exports. Many of these imports form Tanzania are traded onward into the UK market. In this context expanding direct air freight links to the UK would take on considerable importance. What is more if under a no-deal Brexit, in the interest of concluding new international trade agreements, the UK were to pursue its own system of SPS controls, then SPS control issues would become an important area for trade policy dialogue with the UK. This needs to be seen in a context where Tanzanian and other ACP horticultural exporters are facing increasingly strict EU SPS controls. These EU SPS controls are drawn up on the basis of the wide variety of agro-climatic conditions which exist across the EU27, with the agro-climatic conditions in the UK making import controls for some pests and fungal infections les relevant or even entirely irrelevant. Read more “New Tanzanian Air Link to UK Could Help Side Step No-Deal Brexit Threat to Horticulture Exports to UK Via the Netherlands”
Stricter Risk Assessments under New EU Plant Health Regulation Could Hinder ACP Exports
Summary
The EU’s list of high risk plants for which risk assessment and SPS certification will be a pre-requisite for trade to take place has been published alongside the procedures to be followed for securing SPS certification. These procedures are extensive and demanding. While few ACP products are affected by the current list, this list could be extended, with potentially a wide range of ACP exporters being affected. The length of notification before new requirements enter into force will be an important issue in trade with the EU in potentially affected products. Given the specific climatic conditions in the UK it is unclear whether under a no-deal Brexit scenario the UK would feel obliged to fully enforce all aspects of the EU’s new plant health regulation once its enters into legal effect in the EU in December 2019. Given the potential trade disruptions which could arise from the new EU plant health regulation it would appear important to ascertain from the UK government its future SPS related import control policy in areas of export interest to ACP countries. The reality is that given the agro-climatic conditions in the UK a range of EU regulatory requirements may simply be un-necessary under a purely nationally defined SPS control regime (e.g. strict CBS controls on citrus fruit imports). This issue should form an important part of any Continuity Agreement negotiations with the UK, particularly under the proposed “Annex of Concerns” approach. Read more “Stricter Risk Assessments under New EU Plant Health Regulation Could Hinder ACP Exports”
New EU Plant Health Regulation on Non-European Fruit Fly Could Put Squeeze on Smaller ACP Mango Exporters
Summary
In the mango sector stricter EU phytosanitary controls on non-European fruit fly (Tephritidae) could halt the strong growth in ACP mango exports to the EU market which has been underway since 2008. Stricter EU controls could make it commercially non-viable for smaller scale ACP exporters to continue to enjoy entry to the EU market. In this context the extent to which the UK will apply evolving EU phytosanitary controls under a no-deal Brexit scenario could take on some significance for smaller scale ACP mango exporters. Put simply risk assessments based solely on agro-climatic conditions in the UK may come to quite different conclusions than risk assessments based on the diverse agro-climatic conditions across all EU27 member states. In this context if the UK were to design phytosanitary controls based solely on the threat to agriculture and human health in the UK these may prove to be far less strict than the controls now being introduced by the EU. This is an issue which could usefully be taken up in ongoing Continuity Agreement negotiations with the UK, particularly in the context of the “Annex of Concerns” approach now being canvassed as a mean of ensure forward looking trade arrangements with the UK are set in place. Trade arrangements which take into account the changed economic realities and commercial possibilities which the UK’s withdrawal from the EU customs union and single market will or could bring about. Read more “New EU Plant Health Regulation on Non-European Fruit Fly Could Put Squeeze on Smaller ACP Mango Exporters”
UK Procedures for SPS Inspections of Plant and Plant Products under a No-Deal Brexit
Summary
If the EU no longer carries out necessary phytosanitary checks on plants and plant products imported into the UK via EU27 member states, the UK will need to apply standard 3rd country phytosanitary controls to ACP plant products exported to the UK via a EU27 member state. The application of standard 3rd country phytosanitary controls along ACP triangular supply chains could prove disruptive given the UK government’s current planned system of controls. These controls are seen as commercially non-viable by operators involve in current triangular supply chain arrangements. There is therefore an urgent need for ACP governments whose exporters are involved in triangular supply chains involving the affected products to secure from the EU authorities a firm commitment that necessary plant health checks on products destined for the UK market will continue to be carried out in the EU27. Read more “UK Procedures for SPS Inspections of Plant and Plant Products under a No-Deal Brexit”
South Africa to Take EU to WTO Dispute Settlement over Citrus Black Spot Controls
Summary
Press reports suggest the South Africa is planning to pursue a case at the WTO over the EU’s trade restrictive use of Citrus Black Spot (CBS) related SPS measures. However this may be aimed at bringing into the public domain the scientific basis for EU CBS controls. This would then provide a more solid basis for the negotiation of a reduction in the severity of these commercially expensive controls. This could side step some of the political pressures which any for a wider review of EU SPS controls would generate. However structural changes in the Spanish citrus sector look likely to intensify producer pressures for import restrictions unless the functioning of citrus supply chains can be improved to the benefit of Spanish producers. While scope will exist under a no-deal Brexit for a review of UK CBS controls it is unclear whether the stalled Continuity Agreement negotiations are covering these phytosanitary issues. The UK government faces severe capacity constraints in this area of policy dialogue; constraints which are only likely to get more severe under a no-deal Brexit scenario. Read more “South Africa to Take EU to WTO Dispute Settlement over Citrus Black Spot Controls”
How Would ACP Least Developed Countries Be Impacted by a 12th April No Deal Brexit?
Summary
The ending of the two year notification period set out under Article 50 of the EU Treaty alongside the House of Commons rejection of the Withdrawal Agreement for a 3rd time, leaves the Brexit process on borrowed time. The UK government will now have to submit an alternative way forward in the Brexit process if a no deal Brexit is to be avoided on the 12th April 2019. While this may include a longer extension of the Article 50 period beyond the 2 weeks the EU Council has currently granted, the prospect of a no-deal Brexit on 12th April cannot be ruled out. This is despite a huge 240 Parliamentary majority against the UK leaving the EU without a deal. While a no-deal Brexit will not impact on the duty free quota free access which LDCs enjoy to the UK market, where the UK government has committed to rolling over the existing EU preferential system for LDCs as a unilateral UK trade arrangement, a wide variety of non-tariff related issues will also need to be addressed. If these issues are not comprehensively addressed then current trade flows from LDCs could be disrupted in the short term while in the longer term the value of the duty free-quota free access enjoyed could be undermined by changes in the UK’s independent MFN tariff regime. In addition there are a range of UK trade policy issues which need to be addressed if trade with least developed countries is to become a tool for wider poverty focussed sustainable development in LDCs. Most notably in this regard are the rules of origin and SPS control requirements to be applied by the UK to imports from LDCs. Read more “How Would ACP Least Developed Countries Be Impacted by a 12th April No Deal Brexit?”
UK Signs Continuity Agreement with Caribbean ACP Countries
Summary
On 22nd March 2019 the UK government signed a Continuity Agreement with representatives of a number of Caribbean ACP governments. The UK government press release highlighted the benefits of the agreement to Caribbean banana, sugar and rum exporters. While the agreement leaves Caribbean signatories well placed to exploit expanded market opportunities which a no-deal Brexit would give rise to, these benefits could rapidly disappear. The UK government is committed to a wide ranging review of its temporary MFN tariff schedule within 12 months of a no-deal departure from the EU. It is essential for Caribbean Continuity Agreement signatories to ensure existing MFN duties for bananas and sugar remain in place in the medium to long term. Important issues related to the functioning of triangular supply chains and the future of autonomous UK phytosanitary controls linked to UK agro-climatic conditions also need to be addressed. In light of these issues there is a need to attach an “Annex of Concerns” to the newly conclude UK-Caribbean Continuity Agreement. This should set out both areas where the rolled over provisions of the existing EPA can and should be improved to enhance Caribbean exports trade and where additional agreements are needed to preserve continuity of current flows, including triangular trade flows. Read more “UK Signs Continuity Agreement with Caribbean ACP Countries”
Growth in EU28 poultry meat exports to ACP markets could accelerate under a no deal exit of the UK from the EU
Summary
SPS restrictions on poultry meat imports from Brazil saw EU poultry meat production expand in 2017 despite AI outbreaks. This highlights how important trade measures can be in stimulating domestic poultry meat production. In the face of AI related import bans EU poultry meat exporters have found new alternative markets for exports in Africa. The projected 3.9% expansion of EU poultry meat production to 2030 will drive a further expansion of exports (+18.4% or +219,000 between 2018 and 2030), with growing volumes of poultry parts being exported to Africa at progressively lower prices. Given likely Brexit related disruptions of the EU27/UK poultry meat trade, export growth to Africa could be even higher, particularly for UK poultry parts exports of which are currently concentrated on EU27 markets. Potential Brexit related trade effects are not factored into current EU projections. ACP governments may need to use non-tariff trade policy tools to protect against sudden import surges, with this potentially becoming a contentious issue. Additional SPS issues arise from the growing level of processing of Ukrainian raised chickens in the EU, parts of which are then exported as EU chicken to ACP markets. Read more “Growth in EU28 poultry meat exports to ACP markets could accelerate under a no deal exit of the UK from the EU”
‘No-Deal’ Brexit Challenges in Cut Flower Sector Highlight Problems for ACP Triangular Supply Chains
Summary
The Netherlands plays a dominant role as a distribution hub for ACP cut flowers to markets across the EU28. Any disruption UK cut flower imports from the Netherlands would carry important implications for most ACP cut flowers exporters, unless remedial administrative measures can be put in place. The likelihood of delays stripping value out of cut flower supply chains will require the role of the UK Groceries Code Adjudicator to be extended, with a special focus on ensuring unfair trading practices don’t increase in response to Brexit related trade disruptions. ACP cut flower exporters will need to urgently explore the scope for increased direct freight flights to the UK to circumvent delays along triangular supply chains. Those ACP cut flower exporters who can successfully ‘Brexit proof’ their supply chains will be well placed to capitalise on the shortages and rising prices a ‘no-deal’ Brexit could give rise to. Read more “‘No-Deal’ Brexit Challenges in Cut Flower Sector Highlight Problems for ACP Triangular Supply Chains”