- Location
- Yorks
This email has gone to Simon Williams AIC Technical Manageer for FEMAS, FIAS and UFAS assurance schemes. Mr Williams has acknowledged the email and says AIC will consider its contents and respond in due course.
Dear Mr Williams,
I am writing on behalf of a group of UK cereal farmers.
We have been studdying the AIC standards for the supply of combinable crops to the AIC accredited mills, and the associated document - Feed/Food Suplier Schemes Recognised By AIC.
I refer you to the standards on page three of the document.
https://www.agindustries.org.uk/resource/feed-food-schemes.html
In this publication, AIC make a distinct differentiation in permissible standards for UK/Eire produced whole combinable crops in comparison to the imported grains from non-UK/Eire supplies.
The AIC requirement for the imported whole combinable crops can be met by a simple declaration from the supplier. These are the AIC requirements in that respect...
*An alternative acceptable approach for ensuring the safety and legality of non-UK/ Eire combinable
crops is outlined below:
The combinable crop must be supplied by a member of an assurance scheme recognized by AIC and
listed in Approved Suppliers above, and the mill must obtain specific evidence from the supplier relating to each purchase regarding all of the following:
a) All pesticides used pre and post-harvest are approved for use in the EU and;
b) All pesticides used pre and post-harvest have been applied both singly and cumulatively at levels approved for use in the EU; and
c) All storage used (beginning at the point of first collection or storage) meets the standards required by the AIC TASCC Stores Scheme relating to hygiene and cleaning, pest control and prevention of contamination
The AIC requirements for UK/Eire whole combinable crops are distinctly different, in that the requirement is for the UK grower to be in a recognised assurance scheme at the farm level.
These differing standards create increased compliance costs for UK/Eire growers, we judge this discrimination should be changed, and we believe the UK food/feed assurance industry should not create circumstances by which it specifically impedes the competitiveness of its UK farmers.
We are requesting that you change the AIC standards, so the UK/Eire grower has equivalent standards requirements to the current non-UK combinables standards, with an additional change to the wording to also facilitate direct supply from the grower to the mill (rather than through a merchant).
I hope you understand our concerns about the current differentiation and discrimination in the AIC stadards requirements, and I hope that AIC can look constructively at our request and work to find a solution.
We would be grateful if you would consult with us on this matter and keep us updated as to your thoughts and progress. We are working to a tight timescale, and hope that by the 16th of February 2021, it will have been possible to make this simple amendment to the AIC standards and to have informed your scheme members of any changes, so that farmers and businesses can make preparations for March contracts. We imagine you would be in the process of making changes to this document in any case, as presumably you would be possibly replacing any use of the word 'EU' with the word 'UK'.
We intend to propose a change to the current format of the Combinable Crops Passport, creating a tick box for the farmer to declare 'Produced to UK standards', which should satisfy your members in the milling and processing industries that the crop has been produced to standards that are at least the equivalence of the imported combinables (for which use is currently permitted by the AIC).
I hope AIC agree that this move will be a step forward in creating equivalence in standards for UK/Eire farmers, and will increase competitiveness for our home producers.
I look forward to hearing from you on this matter, would be appreciative of an initial acknowledgement of this email, and then to be kept regularly updated as to your progress. If we can provide any constructive help in consulting and discussing any proposals you may have for bringing equivalence to the wording of the standards, we would be very pleased to be involved. In any case we would wish to agree the new wording before it is introduced.
We look forward to working with you and to be able to help improve the AIC standards, so that all producers from all nationalities are working to the same standard.
Dear Mr Williams,
I am writing on behalf of a group of UK cereal farmers.
We have been studdying the AIC standards for the supply of combinable crops to the AIC accredited mills, and the associated document - Feed/Food Suplier Schemes Recognised By AIC.
I refer you to the standards on page three of the document.
https://www.agindustries.org.uk/resource/feed-food-schemes.html
In this publication, AIC make a distinct differentiation in permissible standards for UK/Eire produced whole combinable crops in comparison to the imported grains from non-UK/Eire supplies.
The AIC requirement for the imported whole combinable crops can be met by a simple declaration from the supplier. These are the AIC requirements in that respect...
*An alternative acceptable approach for ensuring the safety and legality of non-UK/ Eire combinable
crops is outlined below:
The combinable crop must be supplied by a member of an assurance scheme recognized by AIC and
listed in Approved Suppliers above, and the mill must obtain specific evidence from the supplier relating to each purchase regarding all of the following:
a) All pesticides used pre and post-harvest are approved for use in the EU and;
b) All pesticides used pre and post-harvest have been applied both singly and cumulatively at levels approved for use in the EU; and
c) All storage used (beginning at the point of first collection or storage) meets the standards required by the AIC TASCC Stores Scheme relating to hygiene and cleaning, pest control and prevention of contamination
The AIC requirements for UK/Eire whole combinable crops are distinctly different, in that the requirement is for the UK grower to be in a recognised assurance scheme at the farm level.
These differing standards create increased compliance costs for UK/Eire growers, we judge this discrimination should be changed, and we believe the UK food/feed assurance industry should not create circumstances by which it specifically impedes the competitiveness of its UK farmers.
We are requesting that you change the AIC standards, so the UK/Eire grower has equivalent standards requirements to the current non-UK combinables standards, with an additional change to the wording to also facilitate direct supply from the grower to the mill (rather than through a merchant).
I hope you understand our concerns about the current differentiation and discrimination in the AIC stadards requirements, and I hope that AIC can look constructively at our request and work to find a solution.
We would be grateful if you would consult with us on this matter and keep us updated as to your thoughts and progress. We are working to a tight timescale, and hope that by the 16th of February 2021, it will have been possible to make this simple amendment to the AIC standards and to have informed your scheme members of any changes, so that farmers and businesses can make preparations for March contracts. We imagine you would be in the process of making changes to this document in any case, as presumably you would be possibly replacing any use of the word 'EU' with the word 'UK'.
We intend to propose a change to the current format of the Combinable Crops Passport, creating a tick box for the farmer to declare 'Produced to UK standards', which should satisfy your members in the milling and processing industries that the crop has been produced to standards that are at least the equivalence of the imported combinables (for which use is currently permitted by the AIC).
I hope AIC agree that this move will be a step forward in creating equivalence in standards for UK/Eire farmers, and will increase competitiveness for our home producers.
I look forward to hearing from you on this matter, would be appreciative of an initial acknowledgement of this email, and then to be kept regularly updated as to your progress. If we can provide any constructive help in consulting and discussing any proposals you may have for bringing equivalence to the wording of the standards, we would be very pleased to be involved. In any case we would wish to agree the new wording before it is introduced.
We look forward to working with you and to be able to help improve the AIC standards, so that all producers from all nationalities are working to the same standard.
