January 26, 2021
Scottish meat and fish producers export to the EU affected by Brexit
Scottish meat and fish producers face health checks, customs declarations, and increased logistics costs when exporting to the European Union (EU) due to Brexit, Reuters reported.
The British government said it is assisting businesses with these issues, urging exporters to make sure their paperwork is duly completed. The government will also provide GBP 23 million (~US$31 million; GBP 1 = US$1.36) to fishermen who have lost sales because of the delay in deliveries.
However, many factories and fishermen cannot complete the paperwork required to export to the EU, with goods stockpiling. Many are unsure about which forms to fill, as different couriers provide different answers.
The worst affected producers are the smaller companies that have grown during Britain's EU membership, which sell low-priced goods across the continent swiftly.
About half of the GBP 76 billion (~US$103 billion) in exports to the EU in 2018 come from small and medium-sized businesses that have nine or fewer workers.
While bigger meat and fish producers are able to fill one truck with one product and complete one set of paperwork from customs, there are smaller businesses that source product from various farms.
The smaller businesses export their products with other suppliers, called 'groupage'. But a vet-approved health certificate is needed for goods from each company, a groupage can comprise of up to 30 different goods per truck. One fish exporter said he needs 400 pages of export documentation for one truck export to the EU. Exports can be blocked for even a single error.
Smaller businesses are also concerned that they cannot absorb the costs of customs declarations, longer logistics times, and the health certificates.
Logistics companies said Brexit could result in a trade shake-out. Truck volumes travelling between Britain and the EU are 29% lower in the first 20 days of January, according to data company Sixfold. Logistics companies also said trucks are returning empty to Europe to avoid export paperwork. Costs are increasing.
- Reuters
