Anticipating its new SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) agreement with the EU, the Government has announced that it will stop border checks on fruit and vegetables imported from the European Union in an early move to ease trade.
Once the agreement is in place, it will establish a UK-EU SPS zone which will mean reduced costs as it will eliminate routine SPS border checks for food exports and imports.
This means, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), that checks on medium-risk fruit and vegetables (including tomatoes, grapes, plums, cherries, peaches and peppers) imported from the EU will not be required — and will therefore not be brought into force this summer.
The easement of import checks on medium-risk fruit and vegetables from the EU was introduced as a temporary measure to provide businesses time to prepare for their implementation, and ensure a smooth flow of essential goods across the UK border.
That easement has now been extended from 1 July 2025 to 31 January 2027 as a contingency measure, following the Government’s announcement that it will agree a new SPS deal with the EU.
“The details of the SPS agreement are now to be negotiated,” Defra explained, “and traders must continue to comply with the UK’s Border Target Operating Model (BTOM).”
The Department said it will continue to work with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and Border Control Post operators to maintain UK biosecurity while minimising disruption to the flow of goods.
