The British will initially focus on the high-risk products when performing physical border checks on cut flowers and plants as of 30 April. If these go well, they will gradually scale up the physical border controls to include other plant products.
The British DEFRA ministry dismisses any stories that the British will be postponing their physical border checks. The British government is confident that the facilities, infrastructure and systems at the border control points are up to the task. DEFRA says that it is “confident that there is sufficient capacity and knowledge at all border control points to process the volumes and perform the checks.” Already in January, DEFRA announced it had no intention whatsoever of postponing the physical checks.
When performing physical border checks as of 30 April, the British will prioritize the high-risk products, which include trees and potted plants. Five varieties of cut flowers – chrysanthemum, carnations, solidagos, orchids and gypsophilas – are classified as medium risk. The other cut-flower varieties fall into the low-risk category, a category which will not be subjected to physical checks by the British at all.