The £60m cost of Brexit certification red tape

CFA continues to work with food and feed trade associations, hauliers, farmers and veterinary and environmental health professional organisations (via the Sanitary and Phytosanitary – SPS – Working Group) working directly with Government to resolve trade issues and to highlight the continuing financial and human cost of post-Brexit red tape. (CFA News #56)

In just one year (to November 2021) the new Export Health Certificates (EHCs) requirements imposed on exports to the EU is estimated to have cost at least £60m in paperwork, with more than 288,000 EHC applications requiring the equivalent of 580,000 certifier hours – 285 certifier years. The number of EU vets registering to work in the UK has dropped by more than two thirds since 2019, exacerbating already extreme demands on the veterinary cohort and severely depleting the availability of qualified staff to certify the paperwork required for export both to the EU and wider world.

To cover these additional costs, Great Britain’s food industry would have needed to generate around £3bn of total additional sales (assuming a 2 per cent profit margin) in the first year of Brexit. These new costs mean that many food businesses can no longer afford to export to the EU. And many companies no longer trade with their previous largest export market, impacting on livelihoods and the GB economy.

Actions needed, solutions proposed

Short shelf-life foods are particularly impacted by the new requirements. Time-sensitive Just In Time production and distribution means that any delays in the transportation compromises the ability to sell them. Consequently, GB export to the Continent of short shelf-life chilled prepared foods is now largely unviable.

Businesses continue to work hard to navigate these barriers. The SPS Certification Working Group is chaired by CFA’s Karin Goodburn: “These already disturbing figures in fact underestimate the total cost to the industry as they exclude bulk orders of EHCs from the Animal and Plant Health Agency made in one request and the wider costs of Brexit SPS requirements.

“Without urgent action the situation is only set to deteriorate and there are no quick fixes. However, we are proposing solutions and call on Government to support us in ensuring the viability of our food businesses.” The issue was covered in the national consumer and trade media, including the Financial Times. Further details, including the proposals, are in the SPS press release.