Food and drink price rise warning as Brexit border changes come into force

Britons have been warned the price of imported food and drink could rise from today as new post-Brexit checks on come into force.

The long-delayed new rules are part of the UK government’s introduction of a series of checks this year.

Fears have been raised that the checks could cause disruption to supply chains, with MPs also warning the new border regime could present “serious biosecurity risks” to the UK.

The Dover Port Authority has already been among those expressing concern about the plan, as well as the prospect of funding cuts.

Home secretary James Cleverly said there would be “no interruption” to food on supermarket shelves as a result of the new rules.

But on the eve of the arrangements coming into force, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee wrote to secretary of state Steve Barclay to express unease about some of the preparations the government has made.

Goods from Britain have faced similar controls from the EU since it left the bloc’s single market at the start of 2021, but the UK has repeatedly put off checks in the other direction.

By April 30, medium-risk animal products from the EU will undergo documentary, identity and physical checks.

From October 31, safety and security declarations for EU imports will become mandatory, along with a more streamlined dataset for imports.

Writing to the Defra Secretary, committee chairman Sir Robert Goodwill said he was concerned over plans that would see departmental funding for spot checks on products of animal origin at Dover reduced by around 70%.

The Conservative MP said: “We remain concerned about the location of the physical checks that will be undertaken for commercial loads.”

Under the new post-Brexit system, dubbed the Border Target Operating Model, health checks on foods arriving at Dover will be carried out at a facility in Sevington, Kent, about 22 miles inland.

Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to Paris, Mr Cleverly said: “The UK has always been a consumer of international products and unsurprisingly French products are very, very popular in the UK. We’re not going to lose that appetite.

“We’re going to make sure that these sensible, responsible checks are done in a way that makes no interruption to the supply of food to the shelves, so people don’t need to worry about that.

“We of course want to make sure that we maintain good quality food available on the shelves and we’ve always been able to do that. And we will continue doing that now.”

A government spokesperson said: “We have strict border controls in place to protect food and animal health safety and these, along with our high biosecurity standards, remain unchanged.

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“Following careful consideration of the options for border control posts in Kent, we announced our intention to consolidate physical controls at the inland border facility at Sevington.

“We are confident that Sevington will have the necessary measures in place to appropriately mitigate biosecurity risks that relate to this facility being located away from the point of entry.”

Rules are set to be updated further in the months to come.

Ireland’s deputy premier Micheal Martin this week said Irish officials have been in touch with exporters and Ireland should be “well prepared”, but urged agri-food businesses in particular to ensure they are ready for the new rules.

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