A leading food industry body warned that the new border controls could lead to food shortages because of the new post-Brexit custom rules for goods arriving from the European Union to Britain.
On January 1, the importers must make a full customs declaration on goods entering the U.K. from the EU or other countries. Businesses will no longer be allowed to delay completing full import customs declarations for up to 175 days - a measure that was introduced to cope with the disruption of Brexit.
The British Frozen Food Federation said this week that new restrictions on animal and plant products from the EU could result in major delays at ports in the New Year because logistics companies on the EU side may not be prepared for the changes. Richard Harrow, the chief executive of the federation, said he was concerned that not enough planning was done to make sure the new requirements are understood by everyone in the food supply chain. With only days to go before the new rules, we remain concerned that January could be a fraught month for our members, he said. The businesses must complete the correct paperwork at least four hours before goods can arrive at U.K. borders, or they risk being turned back at the border. Animal and plant-based products must have statements of origin certificates. While drivers must declare their goods and origin certificates, checks are expected to be minimal until the rules ramp up beginning in July 2022, when stricter checks are expected to come into force. The United Kingdom imports five times the amount of food it exports to the EU. Britain left the EU's single market and customs union on December 31, 2020. The rules take effect six months after they were originally scheduled because businesses said they needed more time to prepare because of the effects of the pandemic and businesses said they needed more time to prepare.
As political leaders continue to negotiate the protocol for Northern Ireland and Ireland, Northern Ireland and Ireland are exempt from the changes.