Cheese exporter welcomes moves to cut EU red tape

Daniel Rush says their exports would benefit if border checks were scrapped

A UK cheese manufacturer says it would save hundreds of pounds on each export if EU border checks on food and agricultural products were scrapped.

Under the SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) agreement, which is being negotiated, the government said it "could add up to £5.1bn a year to our economy", if such checks were lifted.

Daniel Rush, international sales manager for Belton Farm in Whitchurch, Shropshire, said it would bring great benefit to every shipment made.

A spokesman for The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: "We are focused on negotiating an SPS deal that would reduce red tape for British producers and retailers."

Belton Farm sells 15 types of cheese to almost all UK supermarkets

Since 1992, four generations of the Beckett family have been making cheese at Belton Farm.

The company employs 120 people, mainly from Whitchurch, and its cheeses have won numerous awards and are exported all over the world.

This success could be further strengthened by cutting export red tape, according to Mr Rush: "The cost savings could be anything up to £300 or £400 per shipment".

Referring to the red tape, he said: "Retailers in the European Union are choosing local produce over British, which is not what any of us want."

Announcement expected soon

Earlier this year, Defra announced the SPS agreement would make trading with the EU faster, easier and cheaper, but the negotiations appear to have stalled.

"British goods such as dairy, fish, eggs and red meat entering the EU are currently subject to 100% documentary checks and up to 30% physical checks," the department said.

"The SPS agreement will see these time-consuming, expensive, and paperwork-riddled processes removed entirely."

Mr Rush said the hope was the SPS agreement would be implemented within weeks or maybe months.

"As we understand, the likelihood is that there will be an announcement quite soon as to the timeline, and the expectation is that it would be implemented from quarter four 2026," he said.

The government said it aimed to deliver a food and drink deal by 2027 and that it would remove the need for checks on goods as they entered the EU.

As a result, it said "fresh produce can hit supermarket shelves more quickly and traders can get produce to European customers with less paperwork and fewer costs".

It said an agreement on SPS "could add up to £5.1 billion a year to the UK economy in the long run".