Briefings for Britain, May 25, Catherine McBride
The Guardian is very concerned that UK fruit exports have dropped by more than half since Brexit. And they are right – well almost. Actually, only UK export statistics have dropped. What the Guardian failed to mention is that the drop in fruit exports was really a drop in re-exports of citrus and tropical fruit and that this fall has nothing to do with trade barriers nor is it a risk for UK farmers, as The Guardian claims.
The fall of £135 million worth of fresh fruit between calendar year 2020 and calendar year 2022 was, according to the International Trade Centre (ITC): 23% citrus fruit; 18% berries, currants and gooseberries; 14% dates, figs, pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes and mangosteens; 13% bananas; 13% Grapes; 7% melons and papaws; 5% dried apricots and prunes etc. Despite The Guardian’s misdirection by mentioning English apples and pears in their first sentence, only 3.6% or £4.8 million of the fall in UK fruit exports was in the tariff category 0808: apples, pears and quinces.
The Guardian tries to claim that the decline is due to mandatory health certificates and customs paperwork. However, although the EU does have phytosanitary checks on imported fruit, that is not the cause of the fall in UK fruit exports. If The Guardian had bothered to read the UK EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement they would know that the Rules of Origin require all products in Chapter 8 – Edible fruit and nuts, to be wholly obtained in the country of origin. (See page 1022 of the 2555 page document). Citrus fruit, bananas, dates, mangoes etc cannot be ‘wholly obtained’ in the UK.
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