Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons the EU is allowed to export potato seed into Great Britain.

Defra ministers agreed a policy proposed by Defra officials and cleared with Devolved Administration (DA) colleagues to accept EU seed potatoes for 6 months beyond the end of the transition period, until 30 June. This policy was a change from an original policy to block EU seed potatoes entirely, to protect Scotland's specialist industry. The policy options regarding the import of seed potatoes from the EU were discussed between officials of all four administrations and industry organisations. In the absence of a reciprocal agreement with the EU, the original preference was to block EU seed potatoes immediately after the transition period. However, the coordinated request from three organisations representing interests across the potato industry, and the UK Government’s concern that entirely blocking EU potatoes, could prove detrimental to a reciprocal agreement in the longer term, led us to revisit the policy. The industry organisations expressed concerns that although the UK is broadly self-sufficient in the total quantity of seed potato production, it does not currently produce the range of varieties required by the UK market. They also explained that the transitional provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement for goods on the market were unhelpful for seed potatoes because of the need for specialist storage. To address both issues, their request was to allow EU seed potatoes to be imported for planting in spring 2021 to provide a further period of adaptation. This led to the final proposal to accept EU seed potatoes in England and Wales until June 2021, supporting the industry as it adapts.

Defra officials and the DAs re-visited the policy following a joint letter from industry organisations representing both seed and ware potato growers. They proposed a compromise policy to accept EU seed potatoes for a limited time to ensure supply for the Spring growing season. This policy was discussed and agreed with the DAs and a sixth month period of grace was proposed, in line with other 'standstill' policies.