Swann secures ministerial meeting to address trade barriers for Northern Ireland businesses

Robin Swann MP, the Ulster Unionist representative for South Antrim, has secured a pivotal meeting with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, Kirsty McNeill, to tackle the bureaucratic hurdles faced by Northern Ireland businesses importing goods from Scotland.

The move comes in response to mounting concerns over the Windsor Framework, which has created significant trade barriers, particularly for the horticulture and seafood sectors.

Speaking during Scottish Questions in the House of Commons, Mr Swann highlighted the acute challenges faced by local businesses. He cited the example of McIntyre Fruit, a Scottish supplier of plants, which has found it easier to export to Japan than to send goods to Coleman’s Garden Centre in his constituency.

The company has reported a wave of cancelled orders from Northern Ireland due to complex post-Brexit trade arrangements.

Mr Swann also drew attention to a recent incident involving Ewing’s Seafoods, Northern Ireland’s oldest fishmonger. A 40-foot container carrying hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of fresh fish was returned from Belfast to Scotland due to administrative errors on just seven boxes.

“This is a stark illustration of the bureaucratic burden stifling trade,” Mr Swann told MPs, before pressing the Minister for action.

He asked: “Will the Minister, or the Secretary of State for Scotland, meet me and representatives of those companies to discuss what can be done to ease the bureaucratic burden on both Northern Ireland and Scottish business?”

In response, Ms McNeill expressed her willingness to meet with Mr Swann to discuss the issue. She highlighted the work of the horticultural working group, co-chaired by senior officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Cabinet Office.

The group, she explained, was established to address challenges in the movement of seeds and other horticultural products to Northern Ireland, with a focus on consumer supply chains.

“I would be delighted to meet the hon. Gentleman,” Ms McNeill said. “The working group meets regularly to address such issues and includes representatives of the Ulster Farmers Union, the National Farmers Union, and the Horticultural Trades Association, as well as business leaders and a small number of other horticultural businesses.”

Following the exchange, Mr Swann welcomed the opportunity to engage further with the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), which represents the UK’s environmental horticulture supply chain, including garden centres, nursery growers, landscapers, and manufacturers.

During a subsequent meeting with the HTA, the South Antrim MP raised the specific difficulties faced by businesses transporting plants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.

The Windsor Framework, agreed in 2023 to replace elements of the Northern Ireland Protocol, was intended to streamline post-Brexit trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. However, businesses have repeatedly flagged its complex certification and inspection requirements as a barrier to efficient trade.

For the horticulture sector, phytosanitary certificates and border checks have proven particularly cumbersome, while the seafood industry has faced similar administrative challenges.

The plight of businesses like McIntyre Fruit and Ewing’s Seafoods underscores the broader economic impact of these trade frictions. Northern Ireland’s horticulture and seafood sectors, which rely heavily on seamless supply chains with Great Britain, have warned of rising costs, delays, and lost revenue. The return of Ewing’s container, for instance, represents not only a financial loss but also a blow to the reputation of a historic business.

Mr Swann’s intervention has been welcomed by local business leaders, who hope the forthcoming meeting with Ms McNeill will yield practical solutions. The Ulster Farmers Union and the HTA have both signalled their readiness to work with policymakers to simplify trade processes while maintaining biosecurity standards.

As the horticultural working group continues its efforts, the focus will be on balancing regulatory compliance with the need for frictionless trade. For Northern Ireland’s businesses, the outcome of these discussions could prove critical in safeguarding their viability in an increasingly challenging economic landscape.

The meeting between Mr Swann, Ms McNeill, and business representatives is expected to take place in the coming weeks, with stakeholders hopeful for concrete progress. In the meantime, the South Antrim MP has vowed to keep pressing for reforms to alleviate the bureaucratic burdens that continue to hamper cross-border trade.