Stop "crazy" import of native trees into UK orders Paterson Every year millions of trees are imported into the UK, including around 500,000 ash trees. The recent outbreak of ash dieback was first spotted in the UK in imported plants at a nursery and imports have been blamed for other diseases such as bleeding canker in chestnut trees. Mr Paterson called for a crackdown on imports, especially where native seeds are being sent abroad and then returned fully-grown. I'm not sure if we can treat plant and tree products as a free tradable commodity anymore. We had this crazy trade of sending seedlings to Holland and then bring them back and planting them here," he told the Daily Politics. So I am prepared to have a very radical look at how we handle our forestry and our tree environment and how we handle the trade in those materials, which have up till now been completely free. Tim Briercliffe, Business Development Manager at the Horticultural Trades Association, said other species like oak, birch and chestnut are "grown on" abroad. But he said there was little the Government could do to stop the trade by banning imports, as the UK is part of the EU trading block. Instead he said the only way to ensure more plants are grown in the UK is to support the industry so more nurseries can invest in better infrastructure. Also, the grants system must be changed so that subsidies for tree planting are given further in advance and nurseries have a better idea of how many will be ordered. "It cannot happen overnight because the stockage is not there to suddenly meet demand but we could get more UK stock grown if there is a market for it," he said. The Government cannot do it by banning imports they can only do it by incentivising UK production.