The AHDB has announced plans to launch a review of how the industry allows imported grain to enter the same markets as UK-assured grain.

The levy body’s Cereal and Oilseeds Sector Council will commission an independent organisation to carry out a review of assurance in the combinable crops supply chain.

The review will examine the procedures, tests and testing frequency which allows imported grain to enter markets which home producers must access via the Red Tractor scheme or its equivalent across the home nations.

See also: Call for new grain assurance system to end ‘double standards’

The decision follows a meeting on Monday 16 October, involving presentations by both Red Tractor (Assured Food Standards) and the British Farming Union (BFU).

AHDB cereals and oilseeds sector chairman Tom Clarke said the review will aim to provide answers to the questions being raised by the BFU and other levy payers.

“As a first step, AHDB will commission independent experts to undertake a thorough examination to provide transparency and clarity of the quality, traceability, testing requirements and process for grain to enter all end-markets, outside of the existing UK assurance schemes,” he explained.

The findings of the review are expected to be shared with the industry by 2024.

BFU chairman Steve Ridsdale said: “We at the BFU welcome this announcement by the AHDB, which we hope will pave the way to provide British farmers with a choice in how they assure their combinable crops.”