The UK Government’s proposals for new food controls on all goods imported to the UK from the EU will fuel shortages and price inflation, warns food logistics trade body the Cold Chain Federation.
It’s amazing how things shift – 10 years ago our gov would agonise over the rights and wrongs of imposing a new regulation that might add maybe a£ 1000 a year to a business costs – now it will impose a border tax of £43 A TIME on all meat and dairy imports as an afterthought pic.twitter.com/IeQMMXLfLO
— Shane Brennan (@ColdChainShane) April 14, 2023
Six years since the UK started the process of leaving the EU and after two previous postponements to bringing in the necessary food controls, the proposals published at the beginning of April are a massive disappointment, states Cold Chain Federation Chief Executive Shane Brennan adding:
“They solve none of the real risks facing our post-Brexit food supply chains and will exacerbate shortages on the shelf and food inflation.”
“When plans to bring in controls starting from July 2022 were cancelled, we were promised a fundamentally new approach to how the UK would manage its border, that is not what this proposal is. None of the fundamental problems have been solved and business have nowhere near enough time to prepare,” Brennan continues.
According to the expert, groupage, which is the only cost-effective way to move smaller volumes of food goods into food retail, restaurants and more, will no longer be workable under the new regulations so we can expect a collapse in the volume of speciality products coming into the UK.
“Overall, exporting products such as meat and dairy from the EU into the UK will be more expensive, slower and more complicated. We have to expect that many EU based food exporters will take one look at these proposals and decide to cease supplying UK customers. As the recent tomato shortages have shown, food suppliers have plenty of options to sell elsewhere. Bringing in this scheme, in this form, at this pace, at a time of spiralling food price inflation and ongoing supply shortages is a really bad idea”.
Key takeaways from the Border Target Operating Model
The proposals, as set out in the new ‘Border Target Operating Model’ announced on 5 April 2023, is the latest plan to impose the food import controls required of the UK under both the free trade agreement with the EU and World Trade Organisation rules.
A six-week engagement period has commenced, and the final Target Operating Model is scheduled to be published later this year.
While the government ensures businesses that “the proposed new model will prevent delays at the border through a reduction in the need for physical checks for many types of goods, and by ensuring that checks take place away from ports where this is needed to allow traffic to flow freely,” the following requirements highlighted by the Cold Chain Federation may result in just the contrary:
- All businesses importing fresh or frozen meat, dairy and other goods are to provide an export health certificate alongside the consignment of goods entering the UK.
- All export health certificates must be signed in person by a vet at the point of departure.
- Every consignment of goods in the medium and high-risk categories entering the UK will face a new ‘border tax’ of up to £41 per consignment whether or not they are to be inspected.
- All goods in medium and high-risk categories will be subject to documentary checks, mainly negating the promises around light touch physical inspection.
- The TOM also outlines that new checks and controls will be introduced for Irish goods moving from Ireland directly to Great Britain. In accordance with the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland businesses will retain unfettered access to their most important market in Great Britain, whether moving goods directly or indirectly through Irish ports.
The draft Target Operating Model proposes the implementation of controls through three major milestones:
- 31 October 2023 – The introduction of health certification on imports of medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high risk food (and feed) of non-animal origin from the EU.
- 31 January 2024 – The introduction of documentary and risk-based identity and physical checks on medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high risk food (and feed) of non-animal origin from the EU. At this point Imports of Sanitary and Phytosanitary goods from the rest of the world will begin to benefit from the new risk based model.
- 31 October 2024 – Safety and Security declarations for EU imports will come into force from 31 October 2024. Alongside this, we will introduce a reduced dataset for imports and use of the UK Single Trade Window will remove duplication where possible across different pre-arrival datasets.
Photo by Ethan Wilkinson on Unsplash