Hillmount Garden Centre in Belfast and Horticultural Trade Association express concerns about Windsor Framework impact on business

Alan Mercer, Partner at Hillmount Garden Centre in Belfast, was speaking after Fran Barnes, CEO of the Oxfordshire based Horticultural Trade Association (HTA), wrote to Rishi Sunak with concerns about the WF.

Her members have seen "an almost complete cessation of trade in their products with Northern Ireland," since the NI Protocol, she said.

She noted Mr Sunak promised in February that under its replacement, the WF - British trees, plants and seed potatoes “will once again be available in Northern Ireland garden centres".

But she countered that this statement "does not reflect the reality our members will experience" and she warned:

• Several key species of trees and plants will be prohibited for selling to NI.

• GB seed potatoes will not be able to be sold in NI garden centres, nor via mail order.

• NI consumers will find it difficult and costly to order plants direct from GB sellers

• There will be difficulties regaining business from NI which has already been lost to EU-based suppliers.

• GB business trying to sell to NI will compete against EU rivals which have no EU administrative burdens or phytosanitary prohibitions.

• There are concerns about the extra cost and resource burden on GB sellers to provide detailed EU audit data

• There is also uncertainty about the exact criteria which will allow GB growers to gain access to the EU customs Green Lane access when selling to NI.

Mr Mercer has serious concerns about whether GB sellers will want to re-establish trade with NI after a break of three years.

He is "a bit jaded" after the impact of post Brexit trade restrictions with GB. If the WF system allows faster transport of goods to NI it will be "really positive" for him, he said.

"But after what's happened with Brexit, and the UK's Trader Support Service portal, things have been so complicated and hard to use; it's a case of 'we would like to wait and see'."

Under the NI Protocol he must order much larger volumes of products in collaboration with other nurseries. However this affects “both trade and profitability" because he really needs to make tailored weekly orders during his brief annual selling season.

The DUP’s DEFRA spokesperson Carla Lockhart MP said the issues highlighted by the HTA underscore DUP concerns about the WF.

"I have made representations to the Government on behalf of constituents who have struggled to bring seeds, trees and plants from GB to NI,” she said.

“Whilst the Windsor Framework has made improvements, there is still a detailed effort required to get clarity and further work will be necessary.”

A Government spokesperson responded: “We are putting Northern Ireland back on a level playing field with growers, gardeners and farmers right across the UK, allowing long-established trading patterns to resume.

“We have paved the way for 11 banned plant species to move again by the time of the next planting season.

"Those were priority cases identified by industry itself, and we will progress further cases wherever there is industry appetite. These have not been able to move GB to NI since the Protocol came into force.”

• Read the HTA letter to Rishi Sunak in full here.