HTA connects with Europe

HTA connects with Europe: Members of the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) attended this year’s European Nurserystock Association (ENA) summer meeting to discuss trade, skills and sustainability.

The meeting took place in the Czech Republic on 24 and 25 June, following the recent announcement outlining a new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) trade agreement between the UK and Europe.

HTA members left the meeting with “renewed optimism” as delegates across Europe heard how the new SPS agreement is expected to reduce trade barriers and support a smoother flow of plant material between the UK and Europe, while maintaining biosecurity and plant health.

Sally Cullimore, technical and trade policy manager at the HTA says the summer meeting is an “excellent opportunity” for the HTA to represent UK horticultural growers, adding:

“We hope this leads to collaborative efforts like those recently seen to ensure that plant trade is included in the EU-UK Reset announcements.”

Guy Massey, production manager at Joseph Rochford Gardens and HTA’s second representative for ENA says the optimism from the meeting marks a “significant and welcome step forward.”

Massey continues: “the HTA, working with ENA, offers a valuable platform for communication with our European counterparts and can play a role in helping both parties advise and reach clarity on how the agreement will operate in practice.”

The HTA assures that since the meeting, it is committed to enhancing collaborative efforts with Europe, particularly across areas such as the role of peat, retaining skilled workforces and developing digital workflows.

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