UK small businesses counting the cost of new post-Brexit import checks

Small and specialty businesses in the UK are facing disproportionately higher costs on imports from the EU after new post-Brexit border checks on medium and high-risk food and plants took effect on April 30.

Physical checks on dairy, meat, fruit and vegetables, seeds and flowers will now take place at the UK border. The new checks are the latest phase of the UK's Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), published in August 2023. These checks had been delayed five times already.

Importers will now pay a fee on each type of product to be checked in a shipment. Mixed loads will become more expensive for small businesses compared to larger supermarkets, which are able to send trucks with a single product.

Andreas Georghiou runs a high-quality grocery shop in central London. He has been a grocer for over 30 years and his wide range of specialty products come from across Europe.

"Ultimately, our business relies on freight from Europe, that's our business model," he says. "Most people are unaware that the majority of their food, up to 80 percent during winter and 60 percent in summer, comes via the Channel Tunnel."

In the past, Georghiou could order food in the morning with it arriving the next day without any extra checks. Now it can take up to 48 hours to arrive due to large amounts of paperwork, part of an earlier phase in the BTOM.

"We have this ridiculous situation where they have added phyto(sanitary) certificates to potatoes, you have to have a sanitation check for potatoes," he adds. "The delays are caused by companies not having the resources to have staff that are dedicated to doing the paperwork."

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Georghiou says he is dismayed at the idea of importing new types of wine from Sicily and lost one-third of a panettone shipment last Christmas due to spoilage while waiting for checks.

"To do paperwork for pasta (from Italy), which should be nice and easy, took 16 pages my end and eight pages their end, a customs document and a customs agent," he says.

The government says the new processes are necessary to protect against serious economic damage from a potential animal or plant disease outbreak, like foot and mouth disease.

But Georghiou says careful checks are carried out by suppliers before they ship goods, making extra checks unnecessary. "My confidence is in the farmers of Europe," he insists.

"We have this amazing jamon that comes from Spain, from Eduardo, who has created a biosphere for his pigs. They roam freely and he has rescued a breed, he has his own vets locally so he can do the certificates, but many don't, and this is an incredible product, so I will trust him beyond British customs, to be honest."

There is a possibility of more changes in the future, as the government announced two pilot projects to see if checks away from the border are feasible with new technology.

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