Wednesday, April 28, 2021
How Brexit is souring the milk
Yet another impact of Brexit has been highlighted by the Independent. They report new figures have revealed milk and cream sales to the EU have slumped 96 per cent as a result of Brexit-related trade barriers:
The Food and Drink Federation said the new trading arrangement with Europe had cost exporters more than £1.1bn since January, when Britain left the customs union and single market.
Milk and cream exports collapsed by 96.4 per cent while cheese sales to the EU fell by 64.6 per cent in the year to February.
Figures published by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, citing HMRC data, also showed that in February 2020, just under 76,500 tonnes of milk and 901 tonnes of bulk cream were exported to Europe – compared to just 131 and 436 tonnes of milk and cream sent respectively in February 2021.
Buttermilk and yoghurt exports were also down 91 per cent, comparing February 2021 with the same month a year earlier, while butter exports plummeted by 89 per cent, milk powder was down 86 per cent, whey fell 83 per cent and cheese dropped 75 per cent.
Experts have blamed extra paperwork and delays which particularly impact fresh products with a short shelf life.
Extra costs, and the necessity for additional preparation to be made before items are packaged and shipped, are also said to be turning European importers off British products. These hurdles are said to be affecting smaller businesses disproportionality.
The industry has warned that the resulting collapse of “groupage” movements – where goods from different companies that are being shipped to different locations are grouped on one lorry – is compounding the problem, especially for small and medium-sized businesses.
For example, The Cheshire Cheese company said earlier this year it could no longer sell barrels of cheese directly to consumers in the EU because of Brexit red tape – forcing it to consider setting up in France.
The company sold £180,000 worth of truckles, the traditional name for cheese shaped like a barrel, to countries across Europe last year.
However, managing director Simon Spurrell said that was no longer possible because of the huge additional costs now involved in shipments.
The company found that sending specialist cheeses worth around £25 to EU customers requires a health certificate, signed off by a vet, that costs £180 pounds per consignment.
I'm sure none of this was on the side of the Prime Minister's bus during the referendum campaign.
The Food and Drink Federation said the new trading arrangement with Europe had cost exporters more than £1.1bn since January, when Britain left the customs union and single market.
Milk and cream exports collapsed by 96.4 per cent while cheese sales to the EU fell by 64.6 per cent in the year to February.
Figures published by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, citing HMRC data, also showed that in February 2020, just under 76,500 tonnes of milk and 901 tonnes of bulk cream were exported to Europe – compared to just 131 and 436 tonnes of milk and cream sent respectively in February 2021.
Buttermilk and yoghurt exports were also down 91 per cent, comparing February 2021 with the same month a year earlier, while butter exports plummeted by 89 per cent, milk powder was down 86 per cent, whey fell 83 per cent and cheese dropped 75 per cent.
Experts have blamed extra paperwork and delays which particularly impact fresh products with a short shelf life.
Extra costs, and the necessity for additional preparation to be made before items are packaged and shipped, are also said to be turning European importers off British products. These hurdles are said to be affecting smaller businesses disproportionality.
The industry has warned that the resulting collapse of “groupage” movements – where goods from different companies that are being shipped to different locations are grouped on one lorry – is compounding the problem, especially for small and medium-sized businesses.
For example, The Cheshire Cheese company said earlier this year it could no longer sell barrels of cheese directly to consumers in the EU because of Brexit red tape – forcing it to consider setting up in France.
The company sold £180,000 worth of truckles, the traditional name for cheese shaped like a barrel, to countries across Europe last year.
However, managing director Simon Spurrell said that was no longer possible because of the huge additional costs now involved in shipments.
The company found that sending specialist cheeses worth around £25 to EU customers requires a health certificate, signed off by a vet, that costs £180 pounds per consignment.
I'm sure none of this was on the side of the Prime Minister's bus during the referendum campaign.
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He is not interested in the countries small businesses which are the life blood of he the nation. Remember his F++ck business comments.Brexit will not affect his or his friends finances but over time the country and the rest of us will feel the pinch However being a slow bleed how long will it take for people to notice seeing the media drowns it out with Covid which hides the decline?
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