World Brexit endangers food supply in Northern Ireland

Several British supermarket chains have warned of further difficulties in the food supply in Northern Ireland due to Brexit.

© Liam Mcburney / PA Wire / dpa Partially empty shelves in a Belfast supermarket.

In a letter to Minister of State Michael Gove, the heads of Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and others called for an existing transitional arrangement with simplified controls to be extended beyond the first quarter. Otherwise there could be "significant disruptions" in the food supply in Northern Ireland, the letter said. Most recently, pictures of empty shelves in the British province caused a stir.

Gove said in parliament: "These bottlenecks have now largely been overcome." There were no queues worth mentioning, and supermarkets reported good supplies. However, it must be ensured that a “sustainable approach” is pursued even after the end of the transition phase, said Gove. Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his claim that the deal with the EU, which came into force at the turn of the year, would not create any trade barriers. The prime minister said in a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that it was just a matter of “teething troubles”. But the British trade association BRC warned of new problems. "If we do not find a viable solution for retailers in the next few months, there will be significant disruptions in Northern Ireland," BRC expert Andrew Opie told a parliamentary committee.

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© Pixabay Brexit: the Netherlands and Ireland, big winners of the adjustment fund Ireland and the Netherlands Bottom, then Germany, France and Belgium are the countries which should benefit the most from the adjustment reserve of 5 billion euros set up by the EU to support the sectors most affected by Brexit! While Brexit has become more concrete since January 1 and the end of the transition period, Ireland and Netherlands should be the main beneficiary countries of the 5 adjustment reserve bil

Exclusive: Brexit survey by Food and Drink Federation confirms fears of retailers and DUP. Four in 10 food and drink businesses have said they are going to stop or reduce supplies going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland because of Brexit , a poll of some of the UK’s biggest producers has found.

Brexit red tape is likely to increase food supply chain costs, the Food and Drink Federation has warned. Those costs will either be passed on to consumers or absorbed by retailers, the industry group said. Other business bodies warned of further possible shortages in Northern Ireland supermarkets

Great Britain had finally left the EU internal market and the European customs union at the turn of the year. Since then there have been increasing difficulties in trade due to customs regulations, regulations on food safety and VAT.

Northern Ireland in particular is badly affected. There have already been complaints there about empty supermarket shelves. The province is part of the United Kingdom, but according to the exit agreement it is treated according to the rules of the EU customs union and the internal market. This is to prevent a hard border with the EU member Republic of Ireland and a resurgence of the Northern Ireland conflict.

problems also loom elsewhere - on the English Channel, where there has been relatively little traffic since the final completion of Brexit. "It's getting worse," said the head of the FDF Food and Beverage Manufacturers Association, Ian Wright, the committee. There were currently around 2000 trucks crossing the canal every day. Usually there are 10,000. BRC expert Opie warned companies are still not fully prepared for changes to customs applications. "That's why we expect problems," he said.