The British Tomato Growers Association (BTGA) have revealed the declining stability of the tomato sector. This is due to the post-Brexit conditions affecting importation and causing delays for companies and farmers.
The changes that have taken place post-Brexit have had a serious effect on the farming industries. The delays can be up to six weeks, which is mainly due to the prolonged time taken for pathogen testing. This has caused stress on the programming of the crop production for UK growers.
The BTGA are requesting that Defra, the Department for Environment, food and Rural Affairs can help implement a reform to border processes. These delays to do not only cause importation issues, but the BTGA are urging UK supermarkets to agree to 2025 contracts by the end of September, to unsure enough time for British growers to deal with these delays.
The seed exportation in Europe is governed by disease free testing of tomato seeds before exportation to the UK. It can be said that if these standards were implemented into the UK importation, then this may subside the current delays.
