And still it continues ... the price of Brexit !!!

Yet more delays due to Brexit !!!


Bailouts could be needed as food exporters find ‘door to the EU shut’

PA
Jan 10th 2021 3:55PM
Emergency financial aid could be needed to shore up food exporters finding the "door to the EU is now shut", an industry head has said.

James Withers, chief executive of Scotland Food and Drink, said the trade system is "failing" and predicted problems will worsen this week.

He warned orders will be cancelled and EU customers will look elsewhere for their goods as he called for urgent action to fix the post-Brexit trade issues.

In a series of tweets, he said: "More messages from food exporters who are finding the door to the EU is now shut. Haulage firms won't take their loads; bureaucratic/IT systems failing.

"A multi-billion pound trade system is being tested for the 1st time, in real time. And it's going wrong.

"Brexit, week 1 was bad. Week 2 will be worse. UK Govt's dismissal of the request from us (& most main business orgs) for a grace period was a critical mistake.

"By this time next week, pressure to revisit that will be even greater. Emergency financial aid may also be necessary.

"The crux of all this is sheer complexity & lack of prep time. For a product that has 24hrs to get to market, small delays at diff points are crippling."

BREXIT UPDATE, SundayMore messages from food exporters who are finding the door to the EU is now shut. Haulage firms won't take their loads; bureaucratic/IT systems failing.A multi-billion pound trade system is being tested for the 1st time, in real time. And it's going wrong

— James Withers (@scotfoodjames) January 10, 2021

He said the "simplified" process for moving fish from Scotland to France involves 18 steps.

Mr Withers added: "For those that say businesses had years to prepare, a reminder that the final Border Operating Model (all 160+ pages) was published 6 hours before the end of the transition period. Yes, 6 hours.

"We wrote to UKGov with 100 days to go warning that UK could not be ready & asking for a grace period. With 60 days to go, we wrote to @BorisJohnson making the same plea. There was no willingness to even ask the EU about it. Mistakes of 2020 are done. 2021 fixes now critical.

"The pain of Brexit this week will be much less visual than many expect. It is unlikely to be the queues of lorries on motorways or on airport runways in Kent. It will be the pain of what is NOT happening: cancelled orders and EU customers starting to go elsewhere for their goods."

His comments follow some fishing and seafood companies describing the new arrangements as a "shambles" as red tape led to delays.

Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove warned on Friday he expects more disruption at the UK border in the coming weeks.

Mr Gove told broadcasters: "So far disruption at the border hasn't been too profound but it is the case that in the weeks ahead we expect that there will be significant additional disruption, particularly on the Dover-Calais route.

"It is our responsibility in Government to make sure that business is as ready as possible, and hauliers and traders have already done a lot but we have to redouble our efforts to communicate the precise paperwork that is required in order to make sure that trade can flow freely.

"So over the course of the next few days, Government will be stepping up that communications effort to make sure that business knows what is required."

 

Hauliers spending tens of thousands to bring empty lorries to Northern Ireland

PA
Jan 11th 2021 11:46AM

Hauliers are spending tens of thousands of pounds bringing empty lorries to Northern Ireland, an industry spokesman has said.

Seamus Leheny, of Logistics NI, said exports of goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain are doing well, however less is coming back across the Irish Sea as suppliers are faced with new customs demands.

There is a varied picture at shops in Northern Ireland, with empty shelves evident in some parts of some supermarkets – while others appear well stocked.


Seamus Leheny, policy manager at Logistics UK (Liam McBurney/PA)
More than 100 haulage firms operate across the Irish Sea, ranging from large operators to smaller family run businesses.

Mr Leheny said one told him they had spent £24,000 bringing empty lorries from Great Britain due to less produce being transported to Northern Ireland.

“Exports are doing well. NI produce is hitting the shelves of supermarkets across GB,” he told the PA news agency.

“However that’s creating a problem because hundreds of lorries are leaving NI every day for England, but because the suppliers in GB have these formalities to comply with to send their goods to Northern Ireland, a lot of them have either suspended or are delaying loads.

“So then they are having to ship loads back to Northern Ireland empty at their own expense, that’s a terrible hit for any haulier, it’s burning money, because there are driver wages, fuel and ferry costs.


Lorry drivers and officials talk at the DEARA site near Belfast Port (Liam McBurney/PA)
“One haulier last week told me they spent £24,000 shipping empty trailers back to Northern Ireland, trailers that would normally be coming back laden.

“A hauliers business model is based on having a full load going out and full load coming back.”

Retailers are faced with more paperwork and checks following the end of the Brexit transition period.

“The work of a haulier is to have the right data in the right format at the right time, and a lot of the time, that isn’t happening so it means loads can’t leave GB and are delayed,” he said.

“The suppliers to Northern Ireland really need to get on top of this quickly. Some hauliers are managing better than others, a lot of that comes down to either their own preparation or the commodities and who the shippers are. Some commodities are more complicated to move than others.”

Mr Leheny said work is ongoing to reduce the burden but said ultimately grace periods need to be extended and longer term solutions found.

He has called for action from the special joint committee of UK and EU officials which oversee the Northern Ireland Protocol.

“We need to see that committee take some pragmatic solutions, some could be short term, but it would alleviate pressures for industry and give us the breathing space to look at more long term solutions, but we need time to develop those,” he said.

“What is unique about Northern Ireland is that our high street is comprised of the same retailers as across the rest of the UK and that is why the nature of our supply chain is very unique, entering the single market. We’re the only part of the EU single market which is part o the UK high street and that has to be recognised.”

 

Yet more 'Brexit' disasters !!!

'Brexit carnage': 20 shellfish trucks protest over export chaos in London

Reuters
Jan 18th 2021 7:53AM
More than 20 shellfish trucks parked on roads near Number 10 Downing Street and the British parliament in central London on Monday to protest against post-Brexit bureaucracy that has stopped them exporting to the European Union.

Trucks with slogans such as "Brexit carnage" and "incompetent government destroying shellfish industry" parked just metres from Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Downing Street office. Police were asking the lorry drivers for details.

Many Scottish fishermen have not been able to export their stocks to Europe since the start of the year after the introduction of catch certificates, health checks and customs declarations added lengthy delays to their delivery times, prompting European buyers to reject them.

"We strongly feel the system could potentially collapse," said Gary Hodgson, a director of Venture Seafoods, which exports live and processed crabs and lobsters to the EU and which has trucks parked near Downing Street.

"Prime Minister Boris Johnson needs to be honest with us, with himself and with the British public about the problems for the industry," Hodgson told Reuters.

Hodgson said he had cancelled several lorries since December due to the onerous red tape involved with exporting to the EU. He said one operator needed 400 pages of export documentation last week to board a ferry to the EU.

Those participating in the protest said the British government needed to understand the severity of the problems they face and the impact on coastal communities.

They want a more workable system and say there is a shortage of customs agents on both sides of the Channel.

"Many fishing communities did vote to leave but I don't think anyone who did anticipated being constrained by documentation and restrictions that have now been thrust upon us," Hodgson said.

"We need to bring the country together now and find workable solutions to limit the damage to the economy and to protect jobs."

 

And again and again and again - how many more times will it happen and how many more times will the stupid scumbag 'nasty party' ministers say its either nothing to do with Brexit or merely that its 'teething problems' ???



Brexit news – live: Chaos spreads to meat industry as government blames empty shelves on Covid
Follow all the latest developments

Adam Forrest@adamtomforrest
8 minutes ago
49 comments

Boris Johnson blames seafood exporters ‘not filling in the right forms’ for post-Brexit sales crash
Boris Johnson’s government has been warned that meat worth hundreds of thousands of pounds is going to waste at EU ports, as British exporters continue to get caught up in post-Brexit red tape problems.

The British Meat Processors Association said new customs systems remain “convoluted” and “badly implemented”. It comes as Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis claimed that empty shelves in Northern Ireland were due to coronavirus “challenges” – and not because of Brexit.

Meanwhile, the largest political group in the European parliament has urged EU chiefs to come up with a “master plan” to move crucial financial services out of London after Brexit. The European People’s Party (EPP) doesn’t want Brussels dependent on “third countries” like the UK.

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• Boris Johnson blames exporters ‘not filling in the right forms’
• Fishing industry stages protest against Brexit trade deal
• Tory rebels could block post-Brexit trade deal with China

Brexit customs chaos spread to meat exporters

• Government blames empty supermarket shelves on Covid

• EU urged to move financial services out of London

• PM will be ‘relieved’ to see Trump gone, says ex-cabinet secretary

8 minutes ago
‘Never did we foresee what we’ve got in front of us’
The AFP agency has shared some interviews with fishermen from Scotland who staged protests over significant customs problems at Westminster on Monday. Allan Miller, owner of AM Shellfish in Aberdeen, said: “We always knew there would be problems, but never did we foresee what we’ve got in front of us.”

It’s not only Scottish fishing chiefs. Industry leaders from the south-west of England have written to the government claiming customs problems “could be the final straw for many businesses”.

Boris Johnson has blamed some of the problems on incorrect paperwork. But Mark Moore, manager of the Dartmouth Crab Company, said “it’s not about the increased documentation per se” – claiming that new customs systems weren’t allowing things to happen quickly enough.

He added: “It’s the volume required and the timeframe in which to produce it, which doesn’t lend itself to live shellfish and fish generally.”

Adam Forrest19 January 2021 10:59
28 minutes ago
‘No reason’ for blocked lorries, says minister
So how seriously is the government taking Brexit supply problems? Brandon Lewis denied empty shelves were anything to do with Brexit – and also said there was no reason for lorries in Northern Ireland to return empty from Great Britain without expected goods due to excessive customs paperwork.

“Even on foodstuffs, there’s no reason for that to be the case,” the Northern Ireland secretary told Radio 4’s Today programme. Yet Lewis also suggested UK officials were working EU counterparts to get a “permanent resolution” to post-Brexit problems.

Some supermarket shelves were depleted this month as suppliers grappled with new rules surrounding sending goods from GB to NI. The protocol means Northern Ireland follows the EU’s rules on matters like animal product standards.

Strangely, Lewis also told Today that the complex arrangements which have created an Irish Sea border give NI the “ability to trade as part of the EU single market”, giving it “a competitive advantage over pretty much any other country in the world”.


Empty supermarket shelves
(Michael Drummond/PA)

 

What has No food got to do with Brexit, I have spoken to people who live outside the EU and its not happening there..


I know I'm a remainer because most Shithole countries are Outside the EU but blaming something on brexit is Offensive to All non eu countries

 

Prat !!! - go read (carefully) the attached articles which explains it all in words of one (or two) syllables !!!

 

Michael Gove criticised over 68% fall in exports to EU

Freight trucks and HGVs board a DFDS ferry at the Port of Dover. (Getty)

Michael Gove has been criticised over a study which claims that British exports to the EU have fallen by 68% since Brexit.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has written to the Cabinet Office minister to ask for help after its report discovered a significant drop in the volume of exports at the UK’s ports last month.

The RHA study also found that 65 to 75% of vehicles arriving from the EU were returning to the bloc empty due to a lack of goods.

According to the body’s chief executive Richard Burnett, British firms are finding the new export rules “deeply frustrating and annoying”.


The UK's ports have seen huge delays in dealing with paperwork since Brexit. (Getty)
Burnett called on the government to increase the number of customs agents from 10,000 to 500,000 to help firms with extra post-Brexit paperwork.

He also criticised Gove for being unresponsive when contacted by the RHA and said if they do receive a reply it is often a “complete waste of time”.

“Michael Gove is the master of extracting information from you and giving nothing back,” he said.

“He responds on WhatsApp and says he got the letter but no written response comes. Pretty much every time we have written over the last six months he has not responded in writing.

“He tends to get officials to start working on things. But the responses are a complete waste of time because they don’t listen to what the issues were that we raised in the first place.”

A survey of international hauliers has found the volume of exports travelling from British ports to the EU fell 68% last month compared to the same period last year.

The government has offered a six-month grace period following Brexit, allowing the suspension of the full range of physical checks on imports until July.

On Thursday, former Tory chancellor Lord Lamont warned red tape linked to the Brexit deal had rendered most business between Britain and Northern Ireland uneconomic.

Two weeks earlier, the RHA said a 12-month grace period and urgent financial aid were needed to iron out problems with the post-Brexit Irish Sea trade border.