Tough times for British meat exporters
British firms are now registering EU businesses to bypass the export problems, warns Nick Allen, CEO of the British Meat Processors Association. Some of the reasons for this are the new compliance rules that appeared after the UK's exit from the bloc and additional costs for shipping.
"The new system is adding an average of 30 hours into the process, and the costs to ship these loads are now around 60% higher than last year. This is caused by a combination of additional charges from HMRC and their French counterpart, extra customs agents’ and veterinary charges to process the paperwork, and haulage charges that have risen four-fold due to delays at the border. On top of that, freight insurers are raising premiums or simply refusing to insure loads,” explained Mr. Allen using France as an example of a destination for British meat products exported to the EU.
The complications that appeared in the shipping process created a downward spiral for meat exporters, especially for the small and medium companies. Consignments of British meat heading to customers on the continent are still below 50% of normal volume, with some companies doing no exports at all. And this inability to export the parts of the carcase that Brits don’t buy means that meat processing becomes less profitable which will eventually hit livestock prices for British farmers, according to BMPA experts.
The system between the UK and EU must be revised to eliminate some artificial barriers appeared in trade, said BMPA. "It’s going to require much more commercial co-operation between businesses as well as political co-operation between the UK and the EU to re-negotiate and re-design the system from top to bottom. What we are sure of is that whatever is being discussed by Michael Gove and Maros Sefcovic to ease trade barriers with Northern Ireland should also apply to trade with the EU", concluded the association.
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