Exports from the US to the UK are a rather short subject these days, with various factors combining to reduce volumes in the past 10 years. EU-imposed maximum residue levels (MRLs) have deterred many American fruit growers from exporting to UK for fear that their products will be rejected. And this has caused apple, pear and cherry imports to plummet, with apple volumes falling spectacularly from 37.9 million tonnes ($40m) in 2006-7 to just 5.13m ($7m) in 2015-16.
The one category in strong growth is sweet potatoes, with almost all imports coming from North Carolina, which has the best growing conditions and is located close to several ports.In apples and pears, however, a supply glut of European-grown produce sparked by the Russian embargo has played a big role in reducing trans-Atlantic trade.
Donald Trump’s surprise election in November 2016 sent shockwaves around the world and has been viewed by many as a threat to the global economy. The president’s plan to pay for his border wall with Mexico by issuing a tax on exports to the country have raised concerns of a trade war between the two nations – a worrying prospect given that Mexico accounts for 44 per cent of America’s total fruit and vegetable imports [USDA].
When it comes to boosting trade with the UK, however, some American producers have high hopes for Trump – particularly with Brexit and the prospect of a new US-UK trade agreement.
Managing director of Sun Orchard Apples, Steve Riessen, is very positive about the benefits that Trump’s presidency could bring for the fresh produce trade. “Trump is a lot more friendly for business than the last eight years we’ve had,” he says. “You can say whatever you want about Donald Trump, and everybody’s got a whole bunch of different opinions, but he gets stuff done.”
Riessen, whose company is based in western New York, complains that many EU regulations “hamper US apples coming over to the UK”, highlighting high import duty as a significant barrier to trade. “We pay a nine per cent duty from 1 August to 1 January and then a four per cent duty from 1 January to 1 April, so that hurts our trade a lot and makes us uncompetitive,” he says. “I could see them renegotiating that down or maybe eliminating it and that would be a big boom to trade.”
Phytosanitary standards are another bugbear for Riessen, who says “over-the-top” EU regulations have eliminated 80-90 per cent of the companies that used to export US apples to the UK. Sun Orchard is one of the few to have continued, says Riessen, shipping roughly 900t of Empire apples to Tesco and around 360t of Red Delicious to Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Asda annually.
Riessen does not want to speculate on whether phytosanitary regulations will be renegotiated when Britain exits the EU in two years time, but he is confident that by eliminating certain financial restrictions and making it easier for businesses to get credit, Trump will boost produce trade volumes.
Marketing agency The Garden, which represents growers of California walnuts, California raisins, and apples from various states, also sees opportunities for new trade agreements. “Final agreements on how free-trade agreements affect American agricultural products or those from other international supplying markets into the UK and the EU are a long way off,” says marketing consultant Iain Forbes, but he suggests that Trump may look to increase fresh produce exports as a way of creating jobs. “Export sales of agricultural products are clearly a way to secure job opportunities in the agricultural regions of the USA,” he says.
It is still early days and a lot will depend on the trade deal the UK does with the US when it leaves the EU, but it is clear that some American exporters see Trump as an economic opportunity rather than a threat.
