Scotland's seed potato exports will have a new export destination with Northern Ireland from September 30. Since Brexit, exports to the country were no longer possible. Exports to other European countries, on the other hand, are still miles away.
New requirements and agreements will ensure that seed potatoes from Great Britain will be allowed back into Northern Ireland from September 30 this year, reports Defra, the British Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Export has been banned since Brexit, just like in all other European destinations, which means that sales options have been limited in recent years, as has the price. Before Brexit, exports were made to eighteen EU countries. Partly as a result, British seed potato cultivation is under pressure. Or rather: Scottish seed potato cultivation, because more than 75% of cultivation takes place in Scotland. The seed potatoes that are exported will be inspected and approved annually by a new authority.
Yet there is also friction in the sector. Although the British ministry has allowed exports to Northern Ireland, it has left the issue of seed potato exports to the European Union in its desk drawer. Richard Thomson, MP for the Scottish National Party (SNP), has long urged the British ministry to make progress with seed potato exports to the European Union. But it now appears that Defra has not raised it since last March. Thomson emphasizes that the sector needs certainty and must regain its primary sales markets for the further recovery of British seed potato cultivation.