Trade groups have reacted angrily to a UK government announcement that consignments of EU plant and animal products will face charges of up to £145 when imported into Britain from the end of this month.
Businesses warned that the “common user charge” set by ministers for the main Channel port of Dover would drive up food prices and deter EU producers from exporting to the UK as of April 30.
The British Chambers of Commerce said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs had “failed to listen” to industry over the charges.
Defra said earlier on Wednesday that the charges would apply to all consignments entering the UK via government-run border controls at Dover and the Eurotunnel, which handle the bulk of UK food imports. Trucks coming into the country can carry multiple consignments.
William Bain, head of trade policy at the BCC, said the charges of £29 an individual commodity line — capped at five charges per consignment, meaning a maximum fee of £145 — would be a “hammer blow” for smaller importers.
“Importing a small consignment of goods with only five different meat, poultry, egg, milk or some fish products in the ‘medium-risk’ category will now face a bill of £145 per package under these proposals,” he added, urging the government to reconsider.
Ministers have come under mounting opposition from the plant and food sectors over the introduction of post-Brexit border controls on imports from the EU.
The checks have been delayed five times since the UK formally left the bloc in January 2021, but the government insists they are necessary to improve biosecurity and level the playing field for British businesses that face similar controls and charges when exporting to the EU.
Since January EU exporters have had to supply extra paperwork on the provenance of plant and animal products, known as Export Health Certificates (EHCs). Physical inspections at the border begin on April 30, while an additional layer of security documentation will be required from October.
The common user charge will be £29 for products classified as high- and medium-risk, and £10 for low-risk products and goods in transit across the UK.
The fees will apply to imports entering Britain via government-run border posts at Dover and the Eurotunnel and the inland processing centre at Sevington. But they are expected to provide a benchmark for other privately operated ports receiving imports from the EU.
Despite complaints from trade bodies, the British Ports Association, which represents the port industry, said the charges were lower than anticipated and would make it hard for ports that had invested in Border Control Posts to recover costs.
“The charge is at the lower end of our expectations, which whilst better for traders places more pressures on those ports that were forced to build new border infrastructure at significant cost,” said Mark Simmons, policy manager at the BPA.
The Cold Chain Federation, which represents importers of perishable products, and the Horticultural Trades Association, which speaks for the plants industry, were among other groups to express disappointment.
CCF chief executive Phil Pluck said the charges, which EU exporters faced in addition to other new costs such as obtaining EHCs for plant and animal products, would negatively affect food prices.
“[This will] discourage smaller EU producers from exporting plants and animal products to the UK. Result for the UK consumer: less choice, more food inflation,” said Pluck.
Jonas Aurell, managing director of ScandiKitchen, a London-based delicatessen that is already struggling to import products, including sausages, said he agreed with the BCC assessment.
“The British public is going to be severely worse off when it comes to the range and choice in the deli counters . . . It’s an odd way of thinking from a government of a nation of shopkeepers,” he said.
Andrew Opie, director of food at the British Retail Consortium, which speaks for some supermarkets, said it was “particularly disappointing” that the government had waited until late in the day before confirming costs at the UK’s busiest port for fresh food imports.
The UK horticultural industry, which is heavily reliant on imports from EU-based plant nurseries, has also warned the charges will drive up costs.
James Barnes, HTA chair, warned that small and medium-sized enterprises that typically imported multiple commodity codes per individual consignment would be hardest hit. “In reality, businesses in our sector will be paying the £145 maximum charge,” he said.
Defra said the announced charges were “at the bottom end” of the range on which industry had been extensively consulted and were necessary “to recover the costs of operating our world-class border facilities”.
“We are committed to supporting businesses of all sizes and across all sectors as they adapt to new border checks,” the department added.
Source: Economy - ft.com
