Gareth Fuller/PA
The chief executive of the Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) has condemned the UK government’s post-Brexit border solution, saying there will be real consequences for both businesses and consumers alike.
According to Nigel Jenney, changes to the way the UK trades with Europe will lead to obscene charges, delays and disruption at the border, and will be felt acutely by households across the country.
New ‘common user charges’ of up to £14,500 per 100 consignments will add millions of pounds in annual costs to the supply chain, while a lack of clarity from the government over what changes they are bringing in threatens to cause last-minute chaos.
Delays and disruption are also a real threat.
The industry has been informed that official inspection staff will not be available at Control Points beyond 7pm, yet 95 per cent of all the goods in the sector arrive beyond the hours that UK government officials wish to work.
“So, in reality, it’s about what’s convenient to them. It’s not about what’s effective for the industry and cost-effective for hard-pressed consumers”, Jenney says.
He adds that food security could become an issue because the post-Brexit solutions “knowingly add £200 million of avoidable costs” to the sector.
“The Government has single handily created the world’s most inefficient and expensive border,” stated Jenney. “This once in a lifetime opportunity has been squandered and we now await Government-enforced consequences for both businesses and consumers”.
“The UK government has ignored our extensive advice on how to streamline border processes,” Jenney continued. “Instead, they’ve created a strategy that is both incompetent and hugely expensive.
“This will drive up costs for our sector, which will ultimately be passed on to consumers already struggling with the rising cost of living.
“We have become the laughingstock of Europe.”
Related: MPs ‘shutting their eyes’ to the harms Brexit has caused – SNP
