Post-Brexit border checks begin; food price rises expected

Aimed at improving biosecurity, plant and animal inspectors will examine a proportion of imported goods including fresh meat, fish, and dairy produce.

Importers fear this will disrupt supply chains, particularly for time-critical fresh goods.

According to Sky News, the government admits it will add more than £330m to annual business costs and add 0.2% to food inflation over three years and quoted The Cold Chain Federation as saying there will be “a billion pound’s worth of extra cost” put onto food.

The government said up until now most goods from the EU, other than the highest risk items, have been entering the UK without checks.

Products deemed ‘medium risk’ will undergo physical checks including testing for pests and diseases.

‘High risk’ goods will now be checked at the border to help identify public health issues such as salmonella.

Siddharth Rajagopal, chief architect at data management and integration specialist Informatica, commented: “Businesses face the risk of check-mate at ports as new post-Brexit controls unfold for the first time.

“Any hold-up at the border or change in storage conditions could threaten the shelf-life of perishable products and cause significant to disruption to supply chains. All at a time when wet weather is wreaking havoc with domestic supplies of crops including wheat, barley and oats.

“To maintain food choice and keep shelves stocked, the industry needs to be prepared to handle greater complexity and bureaucracy. Moving forward, retailers and distributors will need to have a single 360 view of all their supplier and inventory profiles so they understand which products or shipments will be subject to scrutiny at the border and how lead times might affect food quality and perishability.

“With accurate and timely data, retailers and distributors will be able to identify any stress points and look to modify supply chain operations to continue getting the right products to the right places and at the right time.”