After a few minutes in the queue spent looking for the best deals in the deli shop, it’s time to make decisions. Maybe some fantastic Italian Parma ham? And some slices of Spanish chorizo? A piece of brie produced on a Normandy farm… Oh, and definitely some Greek black olives.
The government may be taking lightly the new and strict Brexit rules affecting UK imports from the European Union, which went into effect on January 1. But the organizations representing small British companies do not. They are concerned about the impact on their business and the choice of products that will be available to customers in their favorite stores.
The Federation of Small Business Owners cites local delicatessens, many of which import from small specialized European suppliers, as the type of business that could be most affected.
“The classic example is neighborhood delis that import delicacies such as Spanish chorizo or Italian Parmesan,” says James Sibley, the federation’s head of international affairs. “For them the thought of having to register in the new system is daunting and the process is expensive. This is why we are very alarmed ”.
The blow to EU small exporters to the UK could be similar to that experienced in 2021 by UK exporters to the EU, many of whom have simply stopped selling their products in mainland Europe because post-Brexit rules make it happen. made an activity too strenuous and expensive. Since 1 January 2021 (when the UK officially exited the European single market) British exporters have had to contend with increased bureaucracy and costs, and their customers have been put off by the resulting price hike. This is despite claims by Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and other Brexit advocates that leaving the EU would simplify the rules and drive prices down.
The rules on agri-food imports that came into force on January 1, 2022 (after a delay decided in September 2021) require companies to accurately communicate to customs authorities what is being shipped to the UK from the EU, and from where. The process requires the exporter to have an Eori code (registration number and identification of economic operators) and to send it to their UK customers so that importers can enter a large amount of data and then send it to the UK authorities. Goods that arrive with insufficient documentation may be blocked, confiscated or returned to the sender.
Sibley argues that there is evidence that many EU exporters are unprepared for all of this: “We know of EU traders who don’t even have that number, and it worries us.”
Further rules and controls will be introduced on July 1st. “From that date, exporters will also have to provide health or veterinary certificates, if they export products of animal origin or food. It is a point beyond which some EU exporters might simply say, ‘you know what? Forget it, it’s not worth it ‘”. He adds that “there will also be physical inspections of assets at border points in the UK in July, which could cause further delays because there will in fact be a vet with a notebook who will go through the truck and say ‘this is fine, this. also (or not) ‘”.
Trade associations argue that the problems will mostly affect smaller operators, as larger operators can afford to pay customs agents or freight forwarders to do the paperwork on their own.
At customs
On Britain’s main shopping streets, some shopkeepers are already worried about the vacuums that will appear on their shelves in 2022 and the rise in prices.
El Colmado, Bristol’s only Spanish deli, imports just about everything: chorizo sausages, large serrano jamon hams, and glistening green olives. Its owner, David Pavon, 41, predicts new problems and price increases when importers will be required to make customs declarations in real time, enter food import details into various customs systems, and obtain special codes that allow trucks. to be boarded on the ferries.
“The logistical problems have already increased last year,” he says. “So I imagine that in January we will see even more delays, because if a truck driver has to sit at the border for six hours or more, we will have to pay him his salary. We are paying the customs agents in Spain and here to enter the necessary import information, another factor that drives up prices ”. Pavon has already increased them, and plans to have to do it again in 2022.
Wholesalers supplying delicatessens and specialty food stores have similar concerns. Cotswold Fayre is a Reading company that supplies hundreds of high quality food products, including much loved European products such as stollen and panettone, to shopkeepers across the UK. Now it has been forced to budget for delays and cost increases for imported goods, instead of investing in creating new jobs.
“I’d rather spend to open another store, but if we have to, we’ll absorb the extra costs,” says Paul Hargreaves, the founder of the company. Hargreaves, who recently met with his local MP, believes the government does not understand the impact of Brexit on British businesses. “Ministers don’t live in the real world. They think things are much easier than they really are. It’s very frustrating, ”he says.
“If they had to experience it firsthand, perhaps they would have made more effort to get a better deal on Brexit. The feeling is that ideology counts more than the practical aspects that British companies deal with ”.
(Translation by Federico Ferrone)
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