The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: arobwk on December 24, 2020, 07:26:25 pm

Title: Seed potatoes & Brexit !?
Post by: arobwk on December 24, 2020, 07:26:25 pm
What is this thing about seed potatoes not being covered by the supposed Deal ?  Anyone have any glimmer of an understanding of why seed potatoes have been singled out ?  I provide extract of an online Express newspaper article below - very confusing wording !!


Announcing the deal, the Defra letter said: “Unfortunately the EU have confirmed they will not accept our case for a permanent change to the prohibition on seed potatoes… on the grounds that there is no agreement for GB to be dynamically aligned with EU rules.”
Title: Re: Seed potatoes & Brexit !?
Post by: Rosemary on December 24, 2020, 07:45:41 pm
No idea but not good news for a lot of Scottish farmers.
Title: Re: Seed potatoes & Brexit !?
Post by: Fleecewife on December 24, 2020, 08:39:19 pm
From Faisal islam, BBC news online:

<<< The UK government has told the agricultural industry that the EU will allow almost all food and plant exports from Great Britain to continue after Brexit.......

....And whereas the export of Ware potatoes for eating is still permitted, there will be a ban on exporting seed potatoes - that is, potatoes which are not meant to be consumed, but are planted in order to grow more potatoes......

....The Defra letter says: "Unfortunately the EU have confirmed they will not accept our case for a permanent change to the prohibition on seed potatoes… on the grounds that there is no agreement for GB to be dynamically aligned with EU rules"......

.....This is an industry significantly focused on Scotland and the north of England.

Exports of seed potatoes will also be barred from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. A continuity trade deal with Egypt will protect the largest market for British exports.

Scottish government rural spokesman Fergus Ewing said it would be "disastrous for our world leading industry">>>


I think the farmers of Europe will not be pleased with this as our seed potatoes are the best  :thumbsup:   But the potato growers of Egypt will be happy - all the more for them  :spud: :spud: :spud: :spud: :spud: :yum:
What the 'dynamically aligned' bit means I have no idea in this context.
Title: Re: Seed potatoes & Brexit !?
Post by: arobwk on December 24, 2020, 10:00:39 pm
No idea but not good news for a lot of Scottish farmers.

Or parts of England just south of the border !  It just seems so odd.
Title: Re: Seed potatoes & Brexit !?
Post by: macgro7 on December 24, 2020, 10:21:38 pm
Everything you send out of this country will need to have correct customs documents. Whether you send a lorry load of goods or a 10g packet of something that you sold for £1 you will need to provide commercial invoices etc

You had to do that for all parcels outside of EU but from 1st of January we will need this to send parcels anywhere outside UK (including Isle of Jersey etc)

That's one of the reasons prices of many products will go up - people will have to pay their staff to fill in and print all the paperwork which will obviously take time.
Utter waste of time.

Thank you brexit  :innocent:
Title: Re: Seed potatoes & Brexit !?
Post by: doganjo on December 26, 2020, 06:57:05 pm
Yup, total waste of money and time, but exactly what the majority of the UK outwith Scotland and Northern Ireland voted for.  Unfortunately the ramifications affect those two countries too.

Covid has put a large number of firms out of business and this will finish off many of the remainder
Title: Re: Seed potatoes & Brexit !?
Post by: macgro7 on December 27, 2020, 09:18:18 am
Companies will have to adapt - most likely just incrrase prices of everything imported from EU.
Who will really suffer is consumers - i.e. everyone who buys vegetables, flowers, as prices will have to go up.
Title: Re: Seed potatoes & Brexit !?
Post by: Womble on December 27, 2020, 10:11:28 am
Does anybody else think it's hilariously British that after all these years of negotiations, in the end it all came down to fish and chips?
Title: Re: Seed potatoes & Brexit !?
Post by: macgro7 on December 27, 2020, 11:34:39 am
Does anybody else think it's hilariously British that after all these years of negotiations, in the end it all came down to fish and chips?
Thats exactly what I was thinking. Fish and chips will be more expensive from next week  :roflanim: