BBKA Forum

British Beekeepers Association Official Forum 

  • Post Brexit Exporting To the EU (No bunfights please!)

  • General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #9844  by The Biking Beekeeper
 23 Jan 2021, 17:42
Following the fairly scary experience of the Cheshire Cheese Company reported today, that they have had to close their online business to consumer sales to the EU, because *every cheese order* requires a certificate costing £180, does anyone know the position for honey and wax products? I have searched the EU, DEFRA and BBKA web sites to no avail. The last list of EU approved exempt countries does NOT include the UK and was updated in 2018.

Do we have to / would it advisable to, close online sales of honey and wax products to customers in the EU?

Cheshire Cheese Co. was informed by DEFRA that no exemptions could be expected in the near future, so it's not a question of temporarily stopping.

I stress that this is business to consumer web sales. Not bulk exporting to an EU based distributor.

Finally PLEASE DON'T START A BREXIT BUNFIGHT! I realise this is an emotive topic but I'm simply searching for information right now.
 #9847  by NigelP
 23 Jan 2021, 18:52
In these uncertain times try sending some and see what happens. You do need a customs declaration on anything now being send to EU.
As far as queen imports are concerned there seems to be no additional requirements as bees are seen as exceptions (as are salamanders??????!!!!!) . This will please some and enrage others.
 #9849  by Patrick
 23 Jan 2021, 22:44
Intrigued, I tried navigating the online advice and got somewhat lost. I rather doubt even small volume commercial traffic from outside the EU will be entirely unregulated.

As it is their business, maybe contact your normal courier for advice? Not that I export honey myself but it would be interesting to hear what you find out.
 #9858  by AdamD
 24 Jan 2021, 13:46
No Brexit bunfights here.
Sometimes my honey is put into small jars as give-aways at trade shows, although of course, these are not happening at the moment. I knew that some countries would not allow honey imports - NZ and OZ as examples who are very carefull about biosecurity and rightly so, but I do not now know if a small 125g jar will be allowed going into Europe. Assuming the worst, my guess is that unless honey has been specifically mentioned, it will be treated as any other foodstuff and not allowed without certification. And there doesn't seem to be de minimus amount - even for personal consumption, such as a ham sandwich.
For wax, that's not a foodstuff, but might be classed as an animal product? Just guessing.