The new Border Operating Model will require:
- All businesses importing fresh or frozen meat, dairy and other goods to provide an export health certificate alongside the consignment of goods entering the UK
- All export health certificates must be signed in person by a vet at point of departure
- Every consignment of goods in the medium and high-risk categories entering the UK will face a new ‘border tax’ up to £41 per consignment whether or not they are to be inspected
- All goods in medium and high-risk categories will be subject to documentary checks, largely negating the promises around light touch physical inspection
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“When plans to bring in controls starting from July 2022 were cancelled, we were promised a fundamentally new approach to how the UK would manage its border, that is not what this proposal is. None of the fundamental problems have been solved and business have nowhere near enough time to prepare.
“Groupage, which is the only cost-effective way to move smaller volumes of food goods into food retail, restaurants and more, will no longer be workable under the new regulations so we can expect a collapse in the volume of speciality products coming into the UK.
Overall, exporting products such as meat and dairy from the EU into the UK will be more expensive, slower and more complicated.”
He added: “We have to expect that many EU based food exporters will take one look at these proposals and decide to cease supplying UK customers. As the recent tomato shortages have shown, food suppliers have plenty of options to sell elsewhere. Bringing in this scheme, in this form, at this pace, at a time of spiralling food price inflation and ongoing supply shortages is a really bad idea.”
