Brexit

Latest situation

It has been a dreadful three weeks of challenges for exporters. The problem has been most acute in the seafood sector but ripples have been felt across the red meat industry too. Groupage has been the source of greatest trouble with bureaucratic requirements being initially impossible for many consolidated loads. Alongside my other industry colleagues, I have been involved in separate Ministerial meetings with Fergus Ewing, Michael Gove and Defra Ministers George Eustice and Victoria Prentice this week. There is now UK Government acknowledgement of the scale of the problem and officials in Scotland and London are working hard to tackle immediate problems. It should be noted that freight volumes between GB and the Continent remain considerably lower than normal so challenges may exacerbate in the coming weeks.

Groupage – a tentative restart

The movement of consolidated loads for different companies – groupage – restarted this week with modest volumes. DFDS despatched two loads on Tuesday on a day 1 for day 3 service. O’Tooles provided us with a helpful update yesterday as well. They too are offering a day 1 for day 3 service however they reported that 60% of their consignments were getting to France for day 2. They have offered to speak to any company needing support. If any other logistics firm wishes to share an update with us, they can do so via info@foodanddrink.scot

In the medium-term (within the coming weeks) ourselves and partners are exploring options to look at streamlining of bureaucracy, based on the evidence of the first three weeks of post-Brexit trade. There may be more information next week on a process to take that crucial work forward. 

Identifying common problems and steps to address them

One of the great challenges of recent days has been the sheer number of problem areas around the new, post-Brexit bureaucracy. As one problem is addressed, it seems as though another two emerge. In the last 24 hours, problems have ranged from typos on documents, incorrect batch numbers and wrong importer addresses to ridiculous debates about whether fish species needed translated into Dutch and whether official stamps should be in red or blue ink. Food Standards Scotland (FSS) continues to work hard on the ground at the three hubs to issue Export Health Certificates and tackle many of these individual problems. However problems exist on both sides of the Channel and within our member companies, whom are grappling with the new requirements. FSS will shortly be sharing a list of the common issues which we will put on our Brexit Hub on Monday. Seafood Scotland will also be sharing information via their regular updates.

Compensation scheme for the seafood sector

There was good news and bad news within a £23 million compensation scheme announced by the UK Government for the seafood sector. The good news is that there are funds available. The bad news is that the detail is sketchy and some of it contradictory. It is not clear whether those catching can claim for damages as well as those processing. Proof is also required to show genuine loss and its unclear what the bureaucracy surrounding that will look like. Again, there will be more detail when it is published.

Dealing with freight on the “non-short straits”, to Netherlands and Belgium.

Much of the focus has been on challenges on routes to Calais and North West France. However, trade to Belgium and the Netherlands is also problematic. A webinar with the relevant authorities is taking place next Wednesday (27th) at 2pm. You’ll find the detail to register here.

Drivers hours derogation

Defra has confirmed to us this morning that a derogation to the normal drivers hours regulation is now in effect across the UK. This will assist in providing some flexibility should delays occur.

Please continue to share with us any Covid-19 and Brexit impacts or issues you are facing. Or, indeed, if there are any other major issues you need the Scotland Food & Drink team to look at. You can contact us via info@foodanddrink.scot

All the best
James Withers

The latest situation on export movements

Some food export loads are making their way to EU customers. In simple terms, full loads of a single product from a single company are managing to navigate the multiple steps to reach France. However, it is slower and still encountering problems. The major problem is for the large number of Scottish food exporters that rely on groupage; the consolidation of multiple products from multiple companies into a single load. Groupage has been halted by many haulage firms. DFDS hopes to restart on from Monday, others are still trying, but some are unlikely to start for the rest of January. The EU’s third country food import requirements were never created with groupage in mind, hence real questions as to whether it is a sustainable export model in the absence of a significant simplification of the process.

Solutions being explored

The Brexit-related problems are multiple and enormously problematic. The range from failing IT systems in the UK and France, to missing commodity codes and, believe it or not, a debate about whether official stamps on export documentation should be red or blue ink. It seems as though as one problem is rectified and then another emerges. Scotland Food & Drink have been working hand in hand with SSPO and Seafood Scotland in particular given the problems of perishable exports that have a small window to reach market. We are all advocating a solution in the immediate term; a grace period on export checks to buy time to fix untested systems. This form of grace period (which we asked for last year) is already in place for imports from the EU into the UK (until July 2021) and for some GB/NI trade. However, the political road to that outcome is dogged by problems. So, in the meantime, a huge amount of work has gone into communications through the supply chain to improve paperwork accuracy. There will be further webinars next week and Seafood Scotland will share the details of those.

There are daily calls with partners and Ministers to try and broker solutions. Calls yesterday and this morning with Cabinet Secretary Fergus Ewing have been valuable to get the latest picture on the ground from businesses. Seafood problems have dominated the situation but we know of members in other sectors also affected. Please share with us and your other trade bodies evidence of specific issues and their impact. And any good news highlighting improvements are also welcome! You can contact us, as usual, via info@foodanddrink.scot

Once again, to get the latest developments, follow our Twitter channels (@scotfooddrink and @scotfoodjames). We will share details of webinars and other regular meetings happening with businesses to talk through key issues.

All the best
James Withers

Brexit disruption for seafood

It has been a dreadful first week for the seafood supply chain trying to navigate new systems and paperwork requirements for exporting to the EU. All our warnings about the lack of preparation time for everyone and the inability to test new systems before going live were sadly prophetic. However, the focus is now on trying to work through problems. We are in daily calls with Scottish Government, Food Standards Scotland and our industry partners – in particular Seafood Scotland and the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation. There is a real collective effort to try and tackle each problem as it arises but the situation is grim for many. Some freight loads are moving through, a little slower, but successfully and those that are simpler, single species load (like salmon) can be prioritised at Larkhall in terms of inspection and EHC processing. That crucially allows more resource to go into the more complex loads. The main problem over the last 24 hours is the halting of groupage by many hauliers. This movement of different products from different suppliers is a lifeline for many exporters, but the bureaucratic hurdles are proving too much for many haulage firms. Some have halted to Monday, one until the end of January. Urgent webinars have been held today with Food Standards Scotland and companies on the problems. This situation is moving by the hour, so best to follow our twitter feeds for the latest: @scotfoodjames and @scotfooddrink

French border closure eased with driver testing

The closure of the French border to all traffic on Sunday 20 December was a disaster for many seafood exporters. We worked daily with Scottish Government, Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation and Seafood Scotland and had daily meetings with UK and Scottish Government Ministers. The re-opening of the route for freight, subject to Covid testing for drivers on 23 December was a step forward. Scottish Government and NHS moved quickly to set up lateral flow testing of drivers at Larkhall, to avoid them having to wait to be tested at English ports. That was extremely helpful. However, whilst the backlog in Kent was cleared it was only brief respite.

Please share your intel

The situation in terms of GB/NI freight traffic and exports to the Continent is developing fast. Please share you experiences with us via info@foodanddrink.scot so we can have the latest picture. For seafood businesses, Seafood Scotland is also doing a huge amount of work so make sure you are connected to their channels of communication.

The Deal

We have produced a summary outlining some of the key aspects of the Deal. This free recorded webinar from the Institute of Export (by Kevin Shakespeare) is also helpful in explaining some of the detail. 

More information on Brexit related issues can be found on our website. 

Thanks all
James Withers

Friday 18th December
Friday 11th December
Friday 4th December

Friday 27th November
Friday 20th November