Scottish seed tattie producers have been offered a glimmer of hope that someĀ exports to the EU might be able to resume next year – and a signal that government funding for crucial plant monitoring could be imminent.
Professor Gerry Saddler, Scotlandās chief plant health officer, told the Scottish Agronomy conference in Perth that while talks with the European Commission on reopening pre-Brexit trade felt like hitting a brick wall,Ā the possibility of a new arrangement had opened up.
āThe Canadians have a very limited relationship in which certain provinces – particularly Prince Edward Island – can send a limited number of seed potatoes into the EU,ā he said.
āThis might be something we wish to explore further with the Commission.
āThey have not dismissed the idea out of hand, so there may be some legs in terms of opening up the market – at least to a limited extent.
However, Prof Saddler said talks with officials continued to be āvery difficultā and he also warned that a Canada-style arrangement would fall far short of an ideal solution.
āCanada is subject to limitations,ā he said.
āOnly certain provinces and named varieties (can be exported), and Canadian potatoes can only go to certain member states such as Portugal, Greece and Cyprus, whereas we would like to get back into the complete market and have no restrictions in terms of varieties.
āWe would also likeĀ the whole of Scotland (to be included) rather than have some regional agreement.ā
Meanwhile, Prof Saddler indicated that the Scottish Government could be about to announce short-term funding to ensure blight and aphid monitoring and emergency authorisationsĀ of plant protection products will continue following the demise of ABDH Potatoes and AHDB Horticulture.
āAHDB was far from perfect, however they provided certain vital services which would be catastrophic if they were to stop,ā he said.
āNothing is concrete, but the Scottish Government has recognised that if all the work were to stop from the end of March this year, losing those early warning systemsĀ would impact seriously on the industry.
āI am optimistic we will find a way to provide some short term funding to keep these activities going.ā
In response to a question on the likelihood of the Scottish Government permitting the continued use of glyphosate, Prof Saddler said the value of such a chemical was well understood.
He added: āMy understanding is it can be used until 2025 then there will need to be some sort of review of the use of herbicides such as glyphosate,
āThen the evidence will need to be taken into account in terms of the environmental impact a chemical of that nature has on biodiversity, so itās a balancing act.ā