FOB Chief Executive's Weekly News for 28th October 2019

CBI Economic Update in Brief for October: 2019-10-economy-in-brief-october

DEFRA Brexit Update: As part of our preparations for Brexit, we are continuing to provide guidance to ensure Agri-Food businesses are aware of what they need to do to prepare.

Specific guidance for food and drink businesses is available on the Food and Drink GOV.UK landing page, including advice for importers and exporters of animal products, and advice about food labelling, tariffs, data protection and more.

As a Defra stakeholder, the Agri-Food Chain Stakeholder Engagement Team would like to share this information with you, and highlight new guidance from this week. Please find this information below and we would be grateful if you could distribute these communications to your members and their relevant supply chains.

New and updated guidance

Process map for plant importers and exporters (published 14th October)

There will be new requirements for trading regulated plants and plant products with the EU after 31 October. These include applying for phytosanitary certificates, registering as an importer or exporter and allowing for plant health checks.

Check what new processes you need to follow to export plants and plant products to the EU by taking a look at the flowchart here.

Process map for fruit and vegetable importers and exporters (published 14th October)

The way you import to and export from the EU will change after Brexit. This flowchart explains the new processes for exporting fruit and vegetables to the EU.

News and resources

UK secures ‘listed status’ to protect £5 billion export market (published 14th October)
During a meeting of the relevant EU committee, the UK’s listed status application for the export of live animals including equine, and products of animal origin, including meat and dairy was agreed. This means that exports can continue after Brexit in the event of a No Deal, by following the new process for exporting animals and products of animal origin to the EU after Brexit. This comes after the UK achieved the required animal health and biosecurity requirements. You can find more information about the announcement here.
After Brexit, the UK will become an independent Member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)

After Brexit, the UK will become an independent Member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

What does this mean for UK agri-food and fisheries businesses?

Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures are how governments apply food safety and animal and plant health policies which affect trade in goods between countries. As an independent Member of the WTO, the UK can track, consult and comment on other WTO Members’ SPS measures that are being developed and seek to influence key markets where measures would impact on UK exports.

What can I do to prepare my business?

The WTO offers an online email alert system for incoming notifications called E-Ping. Anyone can subscribe to receive tailored alerts for particular products, countries and markets. To ensure that your business is aware of the latest developments in accessing markets in other countries, Defra would strongly encourage registering at www.epingalert.org/en.

If you identify a measure that could have an impact on your business, get in touch with Defra to discuss what you can do about it at UKSPS@defra.gov.uk.

For further information on trading under WTO rules, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/trading-under-wto-rules.

China opens doors to British Beef

For the first time in over 20 years, UK farmers and beef producers will have full access to the Chinese market, marking the end of a ban imposed by China following the BSE outbreak in 1996.

The announcement (18/10/19) follows extensive inspections by the Chinese authorities who have confirmed that British beef producers meet the necessary standards to export to their market and marks the final step in securing access.

This market access represents an estimated £230 million boost for the British beef industry.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/china-opens-doors-to-british-beef

Podcast on food labelling with Defra policy team

In the first episode of this mini podcast series, Rob Wells, Head of Food Information to Consumers labelling policy at Defra is joined by Athene Dilke, Food Information to Consumers labelling policy advisor.

They discuss new labelling requirements, importing and exporting changes, and legislative details that the food and farming industry need to note to prepare for Brexit.

Leaving the EU: advice for EU businesses

This leaflet is designed to help EU businesses understand what steps they may need to take to continue trading with the UK after Brexit.

Food and drink showcase Dropbox with shareable resources

Our Dropbox link has resources that you can access. Click here or copy this link into a compatible browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari): https://shwca.se/FoodBrexit. We encourage you to share this widely with your members and stakeholders. We also have a Dropbox link for our stakeholders with businesses in Northern Ireland: https://shwca.se/FoodBrexitNI

DHSC update but no signal on timing of responses to consultations: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published a written Ministerial statement this week to update MPs and others on its achievements. It refers to the NHS Long Term Plan, the Prevention White Paper and the Department’s obesity-related consultation documents, but provides no indication as to when the Government responses to these closed consultations will be published.