Everything you need to understand the threat to Rest of World fresh produce imports — and to make your voice heard, in under ten minutes.
Chief Executive, Fresh Produce Consortium
Dear Colleague,
The UK-EU Reset was intended to reduce friction. For fresh produce, as currently drafted, it does the opposite: it risks imposing EU-style SPS controls on Rest of World imports destined solely for UK consumers. Half of everything we import — citrus, mangoes, blueberries, sweet potatoes, peppers — travels those routes. This is not a technical footnote. It is a direct threat to availability, affordability and the resilience of our supply chains.
Our position is straightforward and constructive. We support a better relationship with the EU. We simply ask Government to retain the UK's existing science-based, risk-led regime for Rest of World produce coming here for UK consumption — a regime already achieving 99.5% compliance across some 120,000 consignments a year. The science has not changed. The politics have. Replacing what works would add over £300 million in cost, more delay, more waste, and no measurable benefit to biosecurity.
This pack gives you everything you need to do exactly that. The Reset Paradox briefing sets out the full argument in fifteen slides. Protecting Our Diverse, Healthy Global Food Supply distils the case into a four-step action plan. The inspection frequency comparison sets our regime against the EU’s, category by category, for anyone who wants the underlying evidence. The campaign video is ready to share with colleagues, customers and stakeholders. And the two templates — the letter to the Prime Minister and the email to your colleagues and customers — mean you do not have to start from a blank page.
Please do not leave this to someone else. Ministers count letters. Personalise the template with your own consignment volumes and cost exposure, send it, copy in your MP, and copy me. Hundreds of businesses making the case in their own words in support of FPC’s constructive solution make this a challenge that Andy Burnham cannot ignore.
Take ten minutes. Make your stand. It matters.
Everything is included in this folder. Preview each item below, or open the original file to download, print and share.
The case for change in under six minutes, ending with a direct prompt to take action. Share it with your team, your customers and your MP.
A seven-minute, plain-English explainer: how the UK–EU deal could shrink the fresh produce aisle, why dynamic alignment is the problem, and what the £300m+ cost means for shoppers.
The full argument: the policy contradiction, the structural asymmetry against Rest of World trade, the cost of getting this wrong, and FPC's proposed fix.
The one-page industry action plan. What's at stake for your business, the key quotes for advocacy, and the four steps to influence the outcome.
Problem, solution, outcome side by side: EU checks dropped while up to 120,000 Rest of World consignments face new checks and £300m+ in cost; FPC’s science-first fix; and the win-win for prices, biosecurity and food security. Ideal to print or share.
Rally your network. A ready-to-send email asking contacts across retail, wholesale, logistics, foodservice and growing to add their voice — editable in the builder in this pack.
The industry letter urging a fresh produce exemption at the 20 November UK–EU summit. Add your details and your own examples in the builder, then email it, or download it as Word or PDF to post.
The hard evidence, side by side. A category-by-category comparison of plant health inspection rates under the current UK regime and the EU/NI regime. Updated 21 August 2026.
How 4 million tonnes of non-EU fresh produce become roughly 50 billion portions on UK plates. One image, ready to post on LinkedIn, X or WhatsApp, or to send to your MP.
Personalise your letter to the PM. Copy your MP and Nigel. Share the video with three people in your network. That's it — that's the ask.
Could a new trade policy shrink the fresh fruit and veg aisle at your local supermarket? A plain-English explainer on the 20 November UK–EU summit, the dynamic alignment problem and the £300m+ impact. Ideal for anyone new to the issue.
The industry's case, ending with a direct prompt to take action. Please share it widely — colleagues, customers, suppliers, and your MP.
Fifteen slides setting out the threat to international trade and how to fix it. Use the arrows, or your keyboard's ← → keys.
The industry action plan for global food supply. Print it, pin it up, pass it on.
Four million tonnes of non-EU fresh produce reach the UK every year — roughly 50 billion adult portions. One picture shows why Rest of World supply matters to availability, prices and the nation’s 5-a-day. Download it, post it, and send it to your MP.
The case for protecting Rest of World supply is being heard in Westminster and in the national press. Read the latest, then add your own voice.
Speaking to iNews and the Financial Times as the Conservatives pledge to reverse the UK-EU food agreement, Nigel sets out the sector's position: a closer relationship with Europe is welcome, but not at the cost of the fresh produce Britain sources from the rest of the world.
“The government is knowingly compromising trade with the rest of the world.”
As the Conservatives pledge to scrap the SPS deal, Nigel warns the Government's approach eases European trade while making access harder for suppliers elsewhere.
Read on FT.com ↗FPC calls on the Prime Minister to retain the UK's science-based regime for Rest of World produce before added costs reach the checkout.
Read on The Grocer ↗EU-style checks on global imports are a transfer of burden, not a simplification, for supply chains already achieving 99.5% compliance.
Read on FarmingUK ↗Add your details on the left and your letter takes shape on the right. Copy it into an email, download it as Word or PDF to print on your letterhead, and send it before the UK–EU summit in Brussels on 20 November. It takes under five minutes.
andy.burnham.mp@parliament.ukangela.eagle.mp@parliament.ukstephen.morgan.mp@parliament.ukhaymans@parliament.uknigel@freshproduce.org.ukYour postcode goes on the letter and finds your local MP, who is cc’d automatically.
Two or three sentences on who you are and why this matters to you: what your business does, how many people you employ, where you're based, or how much of your produce comes from outside the EU. Leave it blank and the paragraph drops out.
How extra certification, inspections, fees or border delays would affect your business, staff, customers or suppliers. Real examples and figures, where you can share them, are especially effective.
Your letter is put together in your browser and is not sent to or stored by FPC. If you tick “Count my letter”, FPC records only that a letter was written and, if you agree, your business name — see FPC’s privacy policy. The core message stays the same for everyone; your own details and examples are what make it count. Prefer to work offline? Download the blank Word template.