The government has set out how a UK‑EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement would make food and farming trade simpler and cheaper. Announced today, Monday 9 March, ministers said the plan is designed to reduce paperwork, speed up border processes and give British produce a clearer route back onto European shelves.

Why this matters is obvious in the data. According to government figures, the value of UK food and agricultural exports to the EU has fallen by 22 percent since 2018 – almost £4 billion in real terms. For many SMEs, that has meant lower margins, lost customers and, in some cases, shuttered lines that could not absorb extra costs and delays.

Officials say a finalised SPS deal would strip out a series of direct charges. Export Health Certificates that can cost up to £200 would go. Phytosanitary Certificates, typically £25 plus inspection fees of at least £127.60, would no longer be required. Organic Certificates of Inspection, averaging £35, would be removed, as would identity check fees on meat and dairy averaging £31 a load. Costly sampling would be cut too – by current estimates it can add about £1,200 to a cheese load, £1,400 to salmon, £440 to apples and £1,200 to beef.

Time is money in fresh and chilled supply chains. Faster flows mean fewer driver surcharges and less spoilage. Government modelling points to reduced queuing costs of up to £149 per load for beef and salmon, alongside the typical £200 per‑shipment driver charge that hauliers add for border friction today. If realised, those savings could ease pressure on supermarket prices, though energy, feed and currency still set much of the inflation backdrop.

Northern Ireland is a key piece. Ministers say moving most agri‑food goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland would become simpler and cheaper, protecting consumer choice while strengthening the UK internal market. Until any new rules take effect, current requirements – including the Windsor Framework – continue to apply, so businesses should stick with existing processes for now.

Timelines are clear enough to plan against. Negotiations are expected to conclude later in 2026, with a start targeted for mid‑2027. To shape the final playbook, a six‑week Call for Information has opened today so firms can flag practical issues and the support they would find most useful ahead of implementation. Detailed sector guidance will follow once talks conclude.

Ministers are framing the agreement as a reset with the EU, the UK’s largest trading partner. They point to real‑world cases: a Somerset cheesemaker whose exports have halved, a Welsh shellfish operator declining orders because paperwork eats into freshness windows, and a Scottish seed potato supplier locked out of customers they served for decades. The thread running through each is time lost and margin slipped.

Large buyers and processors are broadly supportive. Executives at M&S Food and Arla say lower friction should help with food security, give farmers cleaner access to Europe and reduce operating costs across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Export consolidators such as Ramsden International argue a workable SPS deal could reopen parts of the EU market that became uneconomic post‑Brexit.

There are trade‑offs to weigh. Under the proposed deal, UK businesses involved in producing or processing plants, food, animals and animal products would align with EU rules. That applies domestically too, so firms that don’t export may still need to adapt processes. For most operators, the calculation will be whether predictable common standards beat today’s certification burden and border risk.

Around 500,000 businesses could be affected, according to the government – from farmers and importers to processors, retailers and hauliers. The immediate to‑do list is practical rather than political: talk to your trade body about sector specifics, map where EU rules touch your inputs and labels, speak to hauliers about lead‑time assumptions, sign up to Defra email alerts, and respond to the Call for Information. With mid‑2027 in view, there is a workable window to redesign paperwork, reprice lanes and restore customers before peak season comes back around.