Further to this week’s Informal Salzburg Summit, UK and EU27 starch producers reiterate their call for minimum trade disruption. Joint Statement below:
EU and British starch industry associations voice joint call on BREXIT:
Starch Europe and BSIA call for a BREXIT deal that secures the least disruptive impact on trade and on the food supply chain between the UK and the EU
20 September 2018 - In the current context of uncertainty on the progress of negotiations for a Withdrawal Agreement, Starch Europe and BSIA, the British Starch Industry Association, join voices to call for the continuation of trade between both areas, due to the high integration of both markets resulting from 45 years of common rules.
The UK starch industry is fully integrated into the EU market
The UK starch industryis fully integrated in the EU supply chain, processing raw materials either locally available (e.g. wheat) or imported from the EU (starch potatoes and wheat).
UK starch products are partly re-exported to the EU market where they are further used as ingredients in industrial and food preparations. The 4 UK starch processing plants exported 48 000 tonnes of starch products to the EU market in 2017 (1).
The UK is the main export market of EU starch producers.
EU-based starch plantsprocess starch extracted from wheat, maize and starch potatoes. In 2017, the EU-27 exported 892 000 tonnes of starch products to the UK (2), representing more than 53% of the total UK starch market (3).
EU-UK trade post Brexit: a transition towards an ambitious EU-UK FTA
Starch Europe and BSIA stress how crucial the least disruptive impact of Brexit on EU-UK trade flows is for its industry and calls for a transition phase post-Brexit until the conclusion of an ambitious free trade agreement between both sides.
This is the prerequisite for businesses to continue operating efficiently and to benefit from certainty and predictability for operations in the EU and in the UK.
The EU and British starch industries believe that a transition period as from 29 March 2019 is crucial to secure predictability for UK and EU businesses. Duty-free quota-free trade will provide proper conditions for businesses to prepare, until the implementation of the EU-UK trade deal.
Both associations support the swift conclusion of an ambitious Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the UK and EU post-Brexit.
Joint effort to avoid Non-Trade Barriers to preserve the EU and UK supply chain
BSIA and Starch Europe both support:
- Strict and consistent rules of origin,
- Simplified administrative procedure for food exports, and
- Mutual recognition of standards between EU and UK bodies.
BSIA Starch Europe
6thFloor, 10, Bloomsbury Way, 43 Avenue des Arts
London, WC1A 2SL 1000 Brussels
Tel: 020 7836 2460 Tel: 0032 289 67 61
The British Starch Industry Association (BSIA) represents the interests of the UK starch industry on a wide range of issues of concern. BSIA is a member of Starch Europe.
STARCH EUROPE is the trade association which represents the interests of the EU starch industry both at European and international level. Its membership comprises 26 EU starch producing companies, together representing more than 95% of the EU starch industry and, in associate membership, 7 national starch industry associations.
For further information, please contact:
Jamie Fortescue, Starch Europe Managing Director– 00 32 2 289 67 67 – jamie.fortescue@starch.eu
Lucrecia Materi, BSIA Secretary General – 00 44 20 7420 7117 – lucrecia.matteri@fdf.org.uk
(1) EUROSTAT – COMEXT extraction on trade flows 2017
(2) Ibid; The European starch industry manufactures over six hundred products including native starches, modified starches, liquid and solid sweeteners as well as oils, proteins and fibres that are used as ingredients and functional supplements in a vast array of food, feed and industrial applications
(3) Starch Europe assessed the UK consumption market of starch at 1,472 million tonnes
