Food exporters warn MPs post-Brexit checks have created a "monster of a system"

Food exporters describe "kafkaesque" red tape hindering small businesses, with need for an "army of office workers."

• Small businesses say they will "give up" on trade with EU and Northern Ireland unless current checks are simplified.
  

• Trade expert warns that veterinary agreements with EU can take over to a decade to negotiate.
  

• Cross party Trade and Business Commission urges government to digitise checks and reduce burdens on food businesses.

Food exporters are facing "a monster of a system" to trade goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland,  industry witnesses have told MPs and business leaders on the UK Trade and Business Commission today.

The cross-party, cross-industry Commission, launched earlier this month by pro-internationalist campaign group Best for Britain, held its second evidence session today looking at the impact of the UK-EU trade deal on the UK food sector, with a particular focus on Northern Ireland.

Nick Allen, Chief Executive Officer of the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA), told Commissioners the cost of exporting food has gone up “considerably” , with most UK meat exporters facing “an extra £1000” to send a lorry through the port. He added that “an army of office workers” are needed to deal with additional bureaucracy and paperwork.

Nick Allen said that smaller exporters are struggling with what he described as a “monster of a system” with 29 different processes to follow, and that small businesses will have to “give up” unless current checks are simplified. He also emphasised that the system wasn’t designed for just-in-time food supply chains, asking “why we're asking a fully qualified vet to sign an export health certificate for a cream cake to be exported.” He called for export certificates to made electronic, adding it was "utterly ridiculous" to be "messing around" with sheets of paper.

Meanwhile Karin Goodburn, Director General of the Chilled Food Association (CFA), warned that many businesses had already “given up” on trading across the Channel, with products losing a day’s shelf life on lorries.  She said: “nobody's trying to send anything across the Channel at the moment in my sector... because there isn't enough time left on the shelf life to sell the product at the other end of the system.”Goodburn told the Commission that companies in the chilled foods sector were facing “a lot of pain and “a lot of administration”: “we’re dealing with archaic paperwork, Byzantine process and kafkaesque differences of interpretation”

Karin Goodburn further outlined how “89,000 export health certificates have been issued this year”, a hundred times higher than the 806 issued last year. She explained that at present, it takes vets between “three or four hours” to sign each certificate because it is so complex, which equates to “21,000 eight hour days” in real terms. 

The Commission also heard from William Bain, Policy Advisor on Brexit and trade at the British Retail Consortium, who called for certainty “over the medium term.” He urged the government to “engage with business at every turn,” adding that lack of dialogue with businesses was an “error” when first implementing the Northern Irish protocol.

Trade expert Emily Rees, Senior Fellow at European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) Managing Director at Trade Strategies added that veterinary agreements that can reduce the need for food checks “don’t happen overnight”, pointing to the EU-New Zealand deal which took over a decade to be agreed.

Business Commissioner Aodhán Connolly, Director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium and who chaired today's session, said:

“Today’s evidence session revealed the sheer scale of the challenge facing food exporters, particularly small businesses, who are facing a nightmare of red tape.

“Both the EU and the UK government need to work together with businesses to design solutions that remove some of these frictions and provide long-term certainty. That is particularly true for Northern Ireland, where households have half the discretionary income of those in Great Britain.

“We have heard how there is some low hanging fruit that could help reduce the burden on food businesses, including digitisation and certified and auditable supply chains.

“All of this needs to happen in a way that keeps businesses in Northern Ireland competitive and gives choice and affordability to households.”

Naomi Smith, Chief Executive of Best for Britain, said:

“The country needs experts and it needs exports. This stark evidence shows how food exporters are struggling with the fallout from the government’s bare-bones deal with the EU.

“Today’s witnesses made several suggestions for quick fix improvements, which the government should urgently implement to give our economy the shot in the arm it so desperately needs.

“This must be combined with efforts to rebuild trust with our European neighbours, so we can work together to promote smooth trade and tackle shared challenges in the years ahead.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

If you would like to request an interview with one of the UK Trade and Business Commissioners, please contact Paul Haydon on 07988395025, paul.haydon@bestforbritain.org 

Today’s evidence session can be watched again here. A full transcript will be published in due course.

The UK Trade and Business Commission brings together eleven MPs from nine different parties and all four nations of the UK, along with business leaders and experts. It is co-convened by Hilary Benn MP and the Chairman of Virgin Group Peter Norris and the secretariat is provided by the cross-party group Best for Britain.

The commission is taking written and holding regular oral evidence sessions with expert witnesses, businesses and the public, hearing from a range of voices representing the different sectors of the UK economy. This evidence will be used to make regular recommendations to the Government outlining how the UK's trade performance can be improved, both through new and amended trade deals.

About Best for Britain: Best for Britain is a pro-internationalist campaign group that strives for the best social, economic, environmental, and democratic outcomes for the British people. We believe this requires re-engagement with Europe, open, internationalist policies, and cooperation with business, all parties in parliament, and like-minded groups.