Florists call for fast-track approval at UK borders

Long waits at border lines are impacting the bottom line for UK florists and customers are bearing the brunt of Brexit when it comes to buying flowers says James Barnes, Chairman of The Horticultural Trades Association, a UK horticultural advocacy group.

"Ninety-five percent of our trade is really with Europe from an ornamental horticulture point of view. So that's where our key focus is rather than any broader, wider trade agreements," Barnes told CGTN.

The United Kingdom left the European Union, and its trading bloc, on January 31, 2020 following the results of a referendum in 2016. 

However, since leaving the EU, imports and exports of perishable products have been an issue, as ports and borders have experienced long queues. Florists, botanists, and horticulture hobbyists are now left wishing for solutions as plants and flowers risk delays and death along their transit routes.

"I think our asks are quite simple ones. We're not looking to move away from the border controls or to suggest we are. All we're asking for is a phased approach to this," said Barnes.

"So we're asking for just a very simple, pragmatic approach where it isn't all or nothing. We can have a phased approach that avoids traffic queues and shortages, quite frankly. So from a consumer perspective, if there isn't mitigation here, if there isn't a pragmatic approach, then I would see shortages of plants on the shelves of UK garden centers."

The decision to leave the European Union and the trade deals associated with it has been costly for the UK economy according to a report by Cambridge Econometrics. The UK economy has contracted by an estimated $176 billion due to Brexit according to the report, with the capital city of London losing over 290,000 jobs and $37 billion in economic activity alone.

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