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Food Exports

Food exports refer to the movement of food products from an EU country to countries outside the EU (often referred to as Third Countries). Each third country can set their own requirements for food imported into their country and such trade is often subject to restrictions or may require additional certification.

The EU has a Market Access Database that contains extensive information about market access conditions in non-EU countries.

For more information about exporting, see the FSAI exports page.

For further information about UK labelling rules that came into force in January 2024, see the Food Labelling and Brexit page.

Food Exports

Information about exporting food to the UK

  • Exporting to the UK

    As the UK is no longer in the EU Customs Union or Single Market, it now sets the import requirements for products moving into Great Britain. This means procedures apply for businesses moving food products to, from or through the UK, excluding Northern Ireland. The Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland, which forms part of the Withdrawal Agreement between the EU and the UK, means that no new procedures will apply to food goods moving between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

    UK Import Controls 2023: The Border Target Operating Model (BTOM)

    On 29 August 2023, the UK Government published its finalised Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) which sets out new rules for importing food goods to the UK, including from Ireland. These new controls will have implications for many Irish exports to the United Kingdom, excluding Northern Ireland.

    The BTOM outlines the customs, controls and documentary requirements including Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) requirements, which will apply to businesses exporting products to the UK from the EU.

    There are 3 main dates that should be noted:

    31 January 2024  

    • Export health certificates and phytosanitary certificates will be required for medium risk animal products, plants and plant products imported to Great Britain from the EU, including from Ireland.  
    • Prenotification of imports of SPS goods from Ireland on the UK’s SPS import system (IPAFFS) will be required.
    • Note: UK import declarations will need to be pre-lodged and food products moved from the island of Ireland will become subject to checks and controls.

    30 April 2024

    • Documentary checks and physical and identity checks at the border will be introduced for medium risk animal products, plant and plant products imported to Great Britain from the EU, excluding those goods being imported from Ireland.
    • Existing inspections of high-risk plants/plant products from the EU will move from point of destination in GB to UK Border Control Posts.
    • Traders must ensure that their goods arrive through the appropriately designated BCP. This will apply to EU and non-qualifying Northern Ireland goods entering GB from the island of Ireland from no earlier than the 31 October 2024.
    • Common User Charges will be implemented on goods being imported into GB through the Eurotunnel or through the Port of Dover. This charge is to be paid by the importing UK business.
    • Traders who move goods across the UK landbridge to and from the EU will be affected by the changes being introduced on 30 April.

    31 October 2024

    • Safety and Security declarations for EU imports will come into force.
    • Documentary and risk-based identity and physical checks on medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high-risk food and feed of non-animal origin from Ireland will be introduced at ports on the west coast of Great Britain.
    • BTOM Risk Categories

    There are 3 BTOM risk categories for food imports defined by the UK Government, depending on country of origin and product definition. The categories include:

    Low
    Medium
    High

    All risk levels will still require pre-notification on the UK's Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS) to notify authorities before the food goods arrive in Great Britain. It is the responsibility of all Irish food businesses that wish to export to Great Britain to ensure that the pre-notifications are carried out.

    For pre-notification of consignments on the UK IPAFFs, it is a requirement for all food businesses to be registered on TRACES (The Trade Control and Expert System).

    Low Risk

    From 31 January the consignment(s):

    • Must be pre-notified on the UKs IPAFFS
    • Do not need an export health certificate.
    • Require a commercial document from the supplier.

    Medium Risk

    From 31 January 2024 the consignment(s) must:

    • be pre-notified on the UKs IPAFFS
    • have an export health certificate issued by the competent authority in the country where the goods originate, or an official importer declaration (where applicable).
    • From 31 January 2024 these products may be subject to physical import checks.

    High risk

    From 31 January 2024 the consignment(s) must:

    • be pre-notified on the UK IPAFFS
    • have a health certificate issued by the competent authority in the country where the goods originate.
    • Most high-risk consignments are already subject to physical import checks. These will continue after 31 January 2024.

  • Export Health Certification

    In April 2023, the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) published revised UK Export Health Certificates, (EHCs) for the EU, including Irish products. 

    From 31 January 2024, export health certificates and phytosanitary certificates will be required for medium risk animal products, plants and plant products imported to Great Britain from the EU, including from Ireland. Information on the export health certificates including model certificates is available here.

    Due to the complex nature of certification, there are different certification processes for: Meat and Meat Products, Dairy and Dairy Products, Animal by-Products and Fishery Products. You must identify the right export health cert(s) for your products and confirm that your business can meet all requirements.

    The EU TRACES system is the IT system for applying for and generating export health certificates. To be fully registered to trade, you must register on TRACES and on the UK IPAFFS system. You will also need to have full traceability information and all the supporting documentation available to align with your certifying officers’ needs.

    For businesses that are under the supervision of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), it may be necessary to restructure business processes to apply for Export Health Certificates during core working hours. If out of hours certification is required, you will need to make a case to your supervisory team and email Brexitcall@agriculture.gov.ie.  

    If you have any questions about preparing for the upcoming changes, please contact your supervising competent authority or the DAFM Brexit Division at (01) 6072830 or BrexitCall@agriculture.gov.ie. 

    For information on how to apply for an Export Health Certificate, please contact your Competent Authority.
    Additional information and resources are available through DAFM webinars.

  • Landbridge

    Moving goods via the Landbridge will need to follow transit requirements. The correct risk categorisations and health certifications will also be needed to meet the requirements for moving goods via the Landbridge. 
    For animals and animal products transiting Great Britain via the Landbridge: 

    • High, medium, and low risk animals and animal products transiting Great Britain will require pre-notification via IPAFFS.
    • High and medium risk animals and animal products will also require a transit export health certificate. 
    • High and medium risk animals and animal products will be subject to entry and exit identity and physical checks at UK Border Control Posts (BCPs); for goods from Ireland this will not commence before 31 October 2024.
    • Low risk animals and animal products will not require health certificates or be subject to routine checks at UK BCPs. However, they may be subject to non-routine/intelligence-led checks by UK authorities.

    Risk categories are available on the UK Government website.

  • FAQ on exporting to Great Britain

    What is BTOM?

    The Border Target Operating Model (TOM) sets out new rules for importing goods to the UK, including from Ireland.

    The BTOM outlines the customs, controls and documentary requirements including Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) requirements, which will apply to businesses exporting products to the UK from the EU. The TOM also outlines the risk categories relate to food products.

    What should businesses do to prepare for the changes outlined in the BTOM?

    If you own or operate a business that exports food to Great Britain, you should be ready yourself for the upcoming changes. You should look at our 10 tips for preparing to export to Great Britain.

    How do I get an Export Health Certificate?

    For information on how to apply for an Export Health Certificate, please contact your Competent Authority (see details below).

    I want to export animals and animal products to Great Britain – what do I do?

    From 31 January 2024, to import live animals or animal products from the EU and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states into Great Britain you’ll need to:

    • find the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) risk category for the commodity you’re importing
    • follow the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules for that import risk category

    The BTOM categorises live animals, germinal products, products of animal origin (POAO) and animal by-products (ABPs) as high risk, medium risk or low risk. Each category has different requirements.
    You can visit this UK government webpage to find out which risk category applies to your product.

    I want to export plants and plant products to Great Britain – what do I do?

    The FSAI does not oversee plants and plant products. To get more information about the rules for exporting these products, please see the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine’s website.

  • Controls currently in place for exporting food to the UK

    Currently, certain limited categories of plant and animal products, which the UK considers to be high risk (i.e., live animals, germinal products, products of animal origin under safeguard measures, etc.,) require:

    • pre-notification by the UK importer to the UK authorities, using its Imports of Products, Animal, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS); 
    • and an Export Certificate which must accompany the consignment being exported to the UK. 

    For further information on the controls in place for exporting to the UK, please check the UK government website on gov.uk.

    There is further information and guidance available the Irish Government website, gov.ie.

    If you have any queries in relation to export certification, please contact BrexitCall@agriculture.gov.ie

  • 10 Tips for preparing to export to Great Britain

    10 Tips for preparing to export to Great Britain

    1.    Make sure you are fully registered to trade – you may need to register on TRACES and register for an EORI number. For more information, see here.

    2.    Familiarise yourself with Irish and UK Customs and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) requirements for exporting goods to Great Britain. 

    3.    Engage with everyone in your supply chain, including transport and logistics providers, to examine what adjustments will be needed to comply with the new UK import requirements. This might include things such as ferry boarding formalities, pre-notification of SPS products, export health certificates etc. 

    4.    Check the Border Target Operating Model risk-level of your commodity.

    5.    Identify the correct health certificate(s) or your product(s).

    6.    Contact your relevant competent authority (e.g., Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, the Health Service Executive (HSE) or the Local Authority Veterinary Service). Interact now with your inspector who will be certifying your products.

    7.    Ensure you have full traceability information and all the supporting documentation available and have systems in place to organise these documents to align with your certifying officers’ needs.

    8.    Identify the right, experienced staff to interact with the IT systems, such as TRACES and IPAFFS. Decide who in your business/supply chain will be responsible for completing pre-notifications and uploading health certificate(s) onto the UK IPAFFS system.

    9.    Access the information and guidance on the UK government website gov.uk and the Irish Government website, gov.ie. Check the UK Government BTOM website regularly for updates on the new UK import requirements.

    10.    Consider if there are issues to address in relation to logistics arrangements, for example, in relation to couriers. Register with the UK goods vehicle movement service (GVMS) if you are a Haulier who moves goods through the UK ports. This will help to ensure that goods are processed through customs without delay. Register here on gov.uk.

    Information on the new UK Import Controls is available on gov.ie.

  • 10 Tips to Avoid Common Documentary Mistakes Exporting to the UK

    10 Tips to Avoid Common Documentary Mistakes When Exporting to the UK

    Several common documentary errors have been identified by the UK authorities since the implementation of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) on the 31st of January 2024.

    The UK authorities have summarised these and set out the official guidance related to these common errors to improve understanding and minimise errors being made in the future. You can read the breakdown here.

    To avoid making these mistakes, here are 10 tips to keep in mind when filling out the documentation needed to export to the UK.

    10 Tips to Avoid Common Documentary Errors

    General Tips

    1. Provide all relevant commercial documents for all consignments including low-risk consignments.   
    2. Make sure your Composites are correctly categorised. Check if your product is a composite by following the process set out here. 
    3. If you have multiple health certificates you must provide multiple pre-notifications. Generally, each health certificate should be attached to a single import notification. This means a mixed load containing multiple medium risk goods should have multiple import notifications.  

    Import Notification Tips

    1. Provide a UK name and address for the operator responsible for the consignment, not an EU address.  
    2. Make sure to complete the establishment field in the CHED. 

    Export Health Certificate Tips

    1. Check attestations are completed in accordance with the model certificate 'notes for completion'. All non-applicable attestations must be correctly deleted or omitted from the certificate. Deletions carried out by hand must be initialled and stamped. If completed electronically as a verifiable PDF, the signature and stamp per page is sufficient.                       
    2. Make sure to use the correct model certificate. You must not directly copy the model health certificates provided on GOV.UK. The model health certificates for use by EU food businesses exporting to the UK are available on the EU TRACES system, the IT system for applying for and generating export health certificates.
    3. Make sure the certificate is signed appropriately. A paper certificate must bear the signature and stamp of the certifying officer. Verifiable PDF certificates must bear a valid digital signature.  
    4. All pages must be numbered sequentially.
    5. Include the correct regionalisation code. If a product is subject to regionalisation measures, you must include the correct regionalisation code as selected from the list on Gov.uk

     

  • Resources for Businesses

    A number of resources have been made available to support businesses.

    Webinars

    The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the UK Department for Environment & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) are hosting a number of webinars designed to support businesses. 

    DEFRA are running sector specific monthly online webinars to prepare traders for the new Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) import controls (certification and border checks) within the BTOM.

    A number of recorded webinars hosted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) are also available on the DAFM Youtube page.

    Upcoming Webinars:

    Agency Title Date  Time Link

    The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)

     “Update on the UK’s New SPS Import Requirements”

    Thursday 18th April 2024

    10.00am - 1pm

    		 Register here

    Leaflets

    The UK governement has published a number of leaflets to help businesses prepare for a new approach to importing goods to Great Britain under the Border Target Operating Model. The are available here on the UK government website. 

    Brexit Ready Ireland

    The Department of Foreign Affairs have compiled Brexit readiness guides and resources which can be found here on their website.

  • Contact your Competent Authority

    For further information on how to apply for an Export Health Certificate, please contact your Competent Authority.