With Brexit, which has been a fact since 1 January this year, many new rules have been added for flower and plant exporters to the United Kingdom.

One of the new challenges in exporting to the UK is the type of pallet used. When transported to destinations outside the European Union, wooden pallets must comply with the ISPM-15 regulation. This means that wooden pallets must undergo an HT treatment to prevent the spread of organisms in the wood.

For this reason, many companies have had to reconsider the type of pallet they used for the export of flowers. Partly due to the scarcity of wood, more companies have opted for plastic pallets.

This is also seen by commercial director at Palletcentrale, Frank Bennemeer. “In 2021 we see many flower exporters looking for a party that can supply HT-treated pallets. Because the availability of wooden pallets is under pressure and prices are higher, the plastic pallet is becoming a realistic alternative within this sector. Plastic pallets do not need to be HT treated. Many companies from this sector bought light nestable plastic pallets from us this year. We saw an 80% increase in plastic pallets sold. Much of this increase occurred in companies exporting to the United Kingdom. An additional advantage is that this type can be stacked into each other and takes up little space.”

Palletcentrale emphasizes that plastic pallets can also be circular. Used plastic pallets can be retrieved, after which they are reintroduced into the economy.

Read more about our recyclable pallets here

BP nieuws: 8 december 2021