Healthy eating efforts could be hindered by new import controls on EU fresh produce entering the country, the boss of a logistics giant has warned.
At the end of the month, the common user charge is set to be implemented hitting every consignment arriving via the Port of Dover or Eurotunnel, resulting in more price hikes for “essential food items”.
The charge is “yet another blow to the already fragile fresh produce sector, which has already been hit by so many additional costs and challenges due to the post-Brexit border control plans”, Mike Parr, director at PML Seafrigo, which specialises in chilled goods logistics, told The Grocer.
Parr has warned that the roll-out of new controls will invariably lead to less availability and higher prices of fruit and veg, making it harder for shoppers to access and afford fresh goods.
“Post-Brexit, there is a growing reluctance to export fresh produce to the UK because it is now fraught with bureaucratic policies and red tape and this latest additional cost is just further ammunition for that argument,” he said.
“All this at a time when we were under the impression that the government was encouraging the nation to consume more fresh produce as part of the drive towards a healthier lifestyle – this will ensure the exact opposite result.”
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