As of 31 October, chrysanthemums exported from the EU into the UK must come with a phytosanitary certificate, the British Department for Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announced this week. This also applies to cut orchids, dianthuses (carnations and dianthus barbatus), gypsophilas and solidagos. VGB and Royal FloraHolland are relieved, stating that “Things could have been much, much worse.”
In early April, DEFRA published its plans for a future system of import checks on foreign products called the Border Target Operating Model (TOM), which will become effective on 31 October 2023. On 2 May, DEFRA published a supplement/revision stating that five types of cut flowers destined for the UK must be checked and furnished with a phytosanitary certificate by Dutch quality-control Agency Kwaliteits-Controle-Bureau (KCB).
The sector feared that, following the example of potted plants and nursery products, phytosanitary certificates would become mandatory for all cut flowers destined for the UK. The sector lobby – consisting of VGB, Royal FloraHolland, Union Fleurs, Landbouwraad and the British Horticultural Trade Association (HTA) – has been trying to convince the British government only to impose mandatory checks on high-risk products. And successfully so: only the high-risk products, i.e. chrysanthemums, orchids, solidagos, gypsophilias and dianthuses (carnations and dianthus barbatus), must come with a phytosanitary certificate.
