The Horticultural Trades Association has been recognised at the 2026 Trade Association Forum (TAF) Awards, winning Sector Representation of the Year and Highly Commended for Best Association Transformation.

The awards, supported by the Department of Business and Trade (DBT), recognise, reward and promote best practice among trade associations in the UK.

The HTA was a finalist in the following categories:

• Trade Association of the Year
• Sector Representation of the Year
• Best Association Transformation

The HTA’s Sector Representation of the Year Award recognised the work in leading a landmark cross-border trade campaign that placed the environmental horticulture sector at the heart of government policy. This included securing the UK–EU SPS/Plants Agreement, shifting Labour manifesto policy to include plants, and establishing direct engagement with Defra, Cabinet Office, MPs, and EU counterparts. The campaign used member evidence, roundtables, visits, and high-visibility media to reduce trade costs, improve biosecurity, and elevate the sector’s political profile.

Highly Commended in the Best Association Transformation Award, the HTA was recognised for enhancing sector visibility and influence through campaigns such as Plants in Parliament, proactive media engagement, the modernisation of operations, strategic alignment, financial growth, and the embedding of a collaborative and high-performance culture across the HTA team.

Fran Barnes, Chief Executive of the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), said: “One of the key roles of a trade association is to provide representation for its members. The work the HTA delivered to ensure that a future SPS agreement included plant health will have a massive impact on our members, in some cases even saving their businesses. Our political visibility and delivery in all four UK nations is growing and I am pleased that this work carried out with, and on behalf of, our members has been recognised by winning Sector Representation of the Year.

“The HTA has worked as one team to evolve and transform every part of our organisation to provide first-class member representation and service, so I am delighted that this work has also received a highly commended award for Best Association Transformation. I am incredibly proud of our staff and member teams who promote, advocate and champion the UK businesses behind our increasingly important environmental horticulture sector.”