The UK and EU have agreed a draft deal on removing post-Brexit checks from food and agriculture exports, ahead of the UK-EU summit later this month, the BBC reports.

The BBC understands the 200-page draft text for this so called “SPS” [sanitary and phytosanitary] agreement has been circulated to EU nations in Brussels for consideration at a meeting this week. Similar texts for deals on emissions trading and a youth travel and work scheme have also been circulated alongside a 15-page draft joint statement for UK and EU top leaders.

The food deal is the most significant part of the so-called Brexit reset agreed so far, removing checks and red tape that hit exporters after the UK exited the EU’s single market. As a result of the agreement, the government claims the UK economy will eventually see £5.1 billion (€6.1bn) worth of annual benefits, the BBC notes.

The specialist dairy angle is the practical impact of export administration, alongside the opportunities that simpler European market access could create for producers, according to UK-based cheese maker Wyke Farms.

Richard Clothier, managing director of Wyke Farms, comments, “As a family-owned cheese maker in Somerset, we want to spend our time making great British food and growing our export markets, rather than navigating unnecessary paperwork. A well-designed UK-EU SPS agreement could reduce the cost and complexity of selling British food to our nearest neighbours. For dairy businesses like ours, simpler, more predictable access to European markets would give us greater confidence to invest and grow, supporting the British farmers who supply our milk.

“This is an opportunity to make British food more competitive overseas and strengthen the long-term future of UK farming and food production.”