The UK’s Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) with the EU includes a range of measures that smooth the path for trade in some goods. Yet in the food and drink sector, some have called for increased cooperation with the bloc aimed at making imports and exports simpler and quicker.
An Aston Business School paper published last year suggested a new deal between the UK and the EU on agri-food could boost UK exports by as much as 22.5%, while imports could also increase by 5.6%. The Labour Party triumphed at last year’s general election on a manifesto that included negotiating a “veterinary agreement to prevent unnecessary border checks and help tackle the cost of food”.
But what do individual traders at the ground level make of the changes? We spoke to Vladimir Kondratyuk of caviar firm Lemberg on his experience of the changes to the industry since the UK’s exit from the EU at the recent International Food and Drink Event (IFE) in London.
‘100% more paperwork’
“We’ve been selling these products for 15 years in the UK through different channels,” says Kondratyuk, but since the UK’s exit from the EU, moving the firm’s produce from Germany, where it’s harvested, to the UK has become significantly more complex:
“In very simple terms, it’s added a lot of time in terms of processing documentation, communicating with logistics companies and food health authorities because of that documentation.”
While caviar is a product that always required certification, these and other changes, including new CITES requirements, have meant “100% more paperwork, time and money”. Kondratyuk also says he was “surprised” by the additional requirements under the import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS).
‘Stop imposing new things’
In practical terms, it has meant the employment of additional personnel dedicated to managing “bureaucratic processes”. Lemberg is not looking to exit the market as it has “particular customers that are very loyal” in the UK, but the changes have forced the firm to increase prices, Kondratyuk notes. While “it’s manageable,” he adds, “we could really do without it”.
“Fortunately, we are backed up by a very established business. We have the credit line,” he says. However, other businesses are not so lucky, he suggests.
Lemberg’s German suppliers have experienced their own challenges. They include new food certifications and the use of HS codes. Lemberg itself has had to establish a new, “formal” arm in the UK, Kondratyuk explains. While this has meant more direct control of the brand in the UK, it has been an extra expense.
His advice to government is to “stop imposing new things on importers”.
“Ever since Brexit – except maybe the first year when there was a change-over period and they were quite easy on mistakes that customs brokers were making – now it seems that every three to six months they impose new checks, new charges, which I’d like to avoid.”
Kondratyuk argues that the UK should “at least make a new deal with the EU where all those rules and certifications are eliminated”, smoothing the path for both importers and exporters in the food and drink industry. "Why, make it difficult for us?” he asks.
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